Dominant Spurs have the run of Old Trafford to put abject Man United to the sword

Man United (0) 0 Fernandes s/o 42

Tottenham (1) 3 Johnson 3, Kulusevski 47, Solanke 77

Lads. It's United.

They won't get carried away by such a stroll against a pretty abject United, but Spurs have given their season an almighty boost after a sparkling display which was rewarded with three goals - and a host of other near-misses.

Erik ten Hag's outfit were a rabble and had skipper Bruno Fernandes sent off just before the break. This win at times seemed every bit as conclusive as the famous thrashing dished out here during the Jose Mourinho era.

They had unimpressed home fans streaming away long before full time.

Spurs led after three minutes through Brennan Johnson and never looked back. Their aggressive press was a joy to watch and brought further goals from Kulusevski - excellent throughout - and Dom Solanke.

Micky van de Ven got the ball rolling. He made Old Trafford his personal Theatre of Dreams with a blistering run through a clutch of floundering United players before playing a square pass for Johnson to tap in from no distance.

It was just the impetus Spurs needed to trust in their high press and attacking instincts. They smelt blood. When Destiny Udogie sped off in a great counter-attacking move, Johnson came within a whisker of doubling the lead - his angled shot fizzing past Andre Onana and crashing off the far post.

Joshua ZIrkzee forced a save off Guglielmo Vicario, but Timo Werner - given his first start of the season because of an injury to Son Heung-Min - was soon carving out another opening at the other end.

They pressured United into turnovers and it was a question of whether they could capitalise. Ange Postecoglou looked frustrated early on. Probably at the back of his mind was the fear that we were on for a repeat of Leicester and Newcastle away where clear superiority was not made to count.

Cristian Romero was next to go close with an acrobatic scissor kick which missed the far post by inches.

Alejandro Garnacho struck a post with a volley from a Marcus Rashford cross, but United visits to the Spurs penalty area were rare. Soon after, Kulusevski played in Werner for a dart at goal and it needed Onana to be at this best to smother the chance.

The frustration may have been strongly felt by Postecoglou but it was even more pronounced for Fernandes who, just before half-time, inexplicably launched his studs into James Maddison's shin as the midfielder rounded him. Ref Chris Kavanagh decided it was worthy of a straight red and United's skipper could have few complaints.

The second goal Spurs craved and deserved came not long after the restart when a bouncing ball was won and halfway and Johnson scampered down the right before playing the ball in for Kulusevski to deftly touch home.

Did United have any kind of response? Yes if you count Lisandro Martinez' spiteful challenge on Maddison to earn a yellow card. Yes if you count the Stretford End efforts to rouse their side. No by most other metrics, though to be fair, Casemiro almost made Spurs pay for a dip in concentration - firing just wide from a Martinez chip.

But it really should have been a bigger margin of victory. Werner ought to have made it 3-0 after a defence-splitting pass from the increasingly influential Kulusevski but again Onana came to the rescue.

However, after weathering some sort of United rally, Spurs bagged a third from a corner that Solanke stabbed in from close range after the ball had been flicked on at the near post by Pape Sarr - who had only just come on as part of a triple substitution.

Only an outstretched leg from Onana denied Solanke a fourth that would frankly been a better reflection of how the game went. Mickey Moore also flashed in a shot that did not miss by much.

On this evidence, Spurs are very much the mid-table side better placed to make an impact at the business end of the table this season.

The 'Sacked in the Morning' chants from the away end were met with little response from a disgruntled Stretford End who booed their side at the end. It summed it all up.

United: (4-2-3-1) Onana, Mazraoui, de Ligt, Martinez, Dalot - Mainoo (Mount 45) (Diallo 85), Ugarte (Eriksen 73) - Garnacho, Fernades, Rashford (Hojlund 74), Zirkzee (Casemiro h/t)

Spurs: (4-3-3) Vicario - Porro, Romero, van de Ven (Dragusin 78), Udogie (Spence h/t) - Kulusevski, Bentancur, Maddison (Sarr 76) - Johnson (Moore 76), Solanke, Werner (Bergvall 76)