Poor on the ball, worse without it – what went wrong for Man Utd against Spurs?

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After going 1-0 down, United were losing the ball, losing challenges, being beaten in duels and finding it hard to play out. They were not tracking runners and did not know who to mark.

In short, they were a total mess.

Tottenham could have been 3-0 up by the time Bruno Fernandes was sent off before half-time – which was a harsh decision by the way – and the game should have been done.

Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou has been criticised for being too bold in some games, but his team try to win games by playing adventurous football high up the pitch and, against United they were rewarded for their bravery.

That started with the progressive passing we saw from their centre-halves, and one of the reasons Spurs dominated the first half was because they were really confident in what they were trying to do.

United had a plan too, but they have had to adapt without the injured Rasmus Hojlund, who is the only out-and-out striker they have got. He came on late in the game against Spurs but is not fully fit after a hamstring injury.

They have used two number 10s like they did on Sunday before and done OK, playing on the counter-attack and using their rapid wingers.

It got them a couple of chances against Spurs too, even though they were not playing well, so it would harsh to say they don’t have ideas or look like they work on anything when they have the ball.

Instead, in contrast to Spurs, I think a lack of confidence in their patterns of play is their main issue when they play out from the back.

Part of that is down to the fact United have been constantly changing their team – their centre-halves Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez had only partnered each other three times before Sunday, for example.

I actually think that side of things will improve as their players get used to each other, because we know they are good enough.

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