The pressure ramped up on Erik ten Hag at Manchester United once again after a dismal 3-0 home defeat by Tottenham, who delivered a statement result for Ange Postecoglou.
A goal early in each half from the in-form duo of Brennan Johnson and Dejan Kulusevski plus a close-range effort from Dominic Solanke condemned the abysmal Red Devils to another high-profile loss at Old Trafford, with captain Bruno Fernandes sent off for a challenge on James Maddison shortly before half-time.
Tottenham were excellent from the outset in an eventful first half despite the absence of injured captain Heung-min Son, with Postecoglou resisting the urge to move Kulusevski into the attack and bring in another midfielder as he instead opted to hand Timo Werner his first Premier League start of the season.
They settled quickly and were ahead inside three minutes, Micky van de Ven seizing possession after a heavy touch from Marcus Rashford and embarking upon a breathtaking, surging run all the way from his own half to the byline before providing an inch-perfect low cross for Johnson to tap home his fourth goal in as many games from point-blank range.
Spurs continued to cut through sluggish United at will as the chances piled up, Andre Onana denying the busy James Maddison and Destiny Udogie firing off target as confident Johnson hit the post.
Onana also denied Werner one-on-one and Cristian Romero sent an acrobatic effort from a Pedro Porro cross agonisingly wide of the far post.
Woeful United were not clicking anywhere on the pitch, though did strike the woodwork themselves when a slipping Alejandro Garnacho lashed a volley against the post after being picked out by Rashford.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts when Fernandes slipped as he went to challenge Maddison and ended up planting his foot underneath the knee of the England midfielder and received a straight red card. It looked harsh, but the VAR was never likely to overturn referee Chris Kavanagh’s on-field decision.
If that wasn’t bad enough, Kobbie Mainoo also went straight down the tunnel after being replaced by Mason Mount - who would also later go off with a bleeding gash to the head - soon afterward.
United were heavily booed at half-time after that dreadful first period and Ten Hag sent on Casemiro for Joshua Zirkzee at the interval, with Spurs introducing Djed Spence for Udogie after an earlier knock.
The Red Devils absorbed further punishment just two minutes after the restart, Kulusevski inventively flicking in Johnson’s deflected cross after an unfortunate slip from Lisandro Martinez.
Target practice then initially ensued as Onana was sharp to deny both Porro and a disappointing Werner as well as diving bravely at the feet of Solanke.
United began to rally at last and forced a succession of corners, with handball shouts against both Kulusevski and Romero inside the box waved away. Spurs’ own penalty appeals were also dismissed following Noussair Mazraoui’s challenge on Spence.
Casemiro went close with a volley that flashed wide of the back post, but Tottenham soaked up all the pressure from the 10 men and then put the game to bed as two of Postecoglou’s young substitutes combined to great effect with their respective first touches - Lucas Bergvall’s whipped corner flicked on by Pape Sarr before being put it on the line by Solanke.
