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Manchester United welcomed Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford on Sunday hoping to continue their 3 game-winning run in all competitions before the onset of the international break.
The Red Devils started the season with a shock 0-3 defeat to Crystal Palace and were unconvincing in their controversial 3-2 win over Brighton last weekend in the Premier League. However, that was a stark contrast to their form in the Carabao Cup where they won both of their two games where they scored six goals and conceded none.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was hoping to carry forward the performances from the cup games into the league but knew that his predecessor Jose Mourinho would pose a tough challenge with a talented Tottenham side..
Manchester United Starting-XI:
David De Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Eric Bailly, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw; Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matic, Bruno Fernandes; Mason Greenwood, Anthony Martial, Marcus Rashford.
The Red Devils started the game with a bang, with Martial winning a penalty in the opening minute and Bruno Fernandes giving Manchester United the lead. From there it was all downhill for Manchester United, though.
Tanguy Ndombele scored the equaliser before Son Heung Min gave Tottenham the lead. Martial was then sent off for violent conduct, and Son soon scored his team's third before Harry Kane gave Tottenham a 4-1 lead at the end of the first half.
Solskjaer took off Matic and Bruno Fernandes and brought in Fred and Scott McTominay at the break. But there were little improvements on the pitch as Tottenham used their man advantage very well. Serge Aurier scored to make it 5-1 for the away side, and Harry Kane completed the humiliation for Manchester United from the spot.
The final score was the worst possible nightmare for the Norwegian tactician as Manchester United suffered their worst home defeat in a Premier League game in nine years.
On that note, let us take a look at five Manchester United players who were the poorest on the pitch.
Five Manchester United players who flopped against Tottenham Hotspur
#5 Anthony Martial
Anthony Martial started brilliantly against Spurs, with his movement and quick feet opening up the visitor’s backline as Davinson Sanchez was left with no other option but to bring the Frenchman down.
It looked like the perfect start for Manchester United when Bruno Fernandes converted from the spot.
Even after Tottenham scored twice to go ahead, Martial continued to be a threat for Spurs. However, all that changed in the 28th minute.
While Tottenham were preparing to take a corner, Martial got involved in a row with Eric Lamela in the box. The Argentinean seemed to push the Frenchman, and Martial retaliated with the lightest of slaps on the chin. But Lamela dropped down to the ground holding his face, and the Frenchman was shown a straight red.
Martial was manipulated very easily by Lamela, but his sending off put Manchester United in a numerical disadvantage that dragged them down.
#4 Eric Bailly
The Ivorian caused quite a rage among Manchester United fans with two fantastic performances in back-to-back starts in the Carabao Cup.
Eric Bailly was everything the Red Devils had lacked at the back in the Premier League: he was strong, fast and brave. It was only going to be a matter of time before Solskjaer put him in place of the stuttering Victor Lindelof in the starting eleven, and that moment arrived against Tottenham Hostpur.
Bailly started the game watching his defensive partner struggle, and perhaps a little bit of that nervousness crept into him too. Even though the Ivorian was decent up until Manchester United were reduced to 10 men, he soon fell apart.
He tried to play out from the back when the opposition already had a man advantage but ended up giving the ball away as Spurs capitalised to go 3-1 ahead.
It was a turning point in the game, and that goal perhaps broke the spirit of the Manchester United team. Bailly did not have too much more to contribute in the game as he capped up a forgettable return to the starting-eleven in the Premier League.
#3 Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was a rock on the right side of the defense last season for Manchester United. Very few people would get past him, and the ones who did were greeted with crunching tackles from the 'Spiderman'.
However, one complaint that stuck to the Englishman was his lack of ambition going forward. If fans expected Wan-Bissaka to improve his offensive aspect of the game in his second season with Manchester United, they would have been disappointed so far.
Not only has the Englishman failed to show a bit of adventure up front, he has also regressed in his defensive performances as well.
Wan-Bissaka has been poor in the run-up to the Tottenham game, and he endured another torrid outing on the pitch on Sunday. His positioning was suspect, and he looked reluctant to involve himself in one-on-one battles with Son or Reguilon.
The Englishman tucked inside all game, providing the opposition plenty of space to work on. Even when Manchester United went a man down and required players to stand up, Wan-Bissaka showed little stomach for a fight.
#2 Paul Pogba
There’s an added scrutiny on Paul Pogba every season, perhaps due to his monstrous transfer fee and wages but also because of the fact that he’s yet to truly fulfill his potential at Old Trafford.
The Frenchman was unimpressive at the start of this season once again, but Solskjaer continued to keep faith in him. Unfortunately for the Norwegian, Pogba was one of the poorest players on the pitch for Manchester United.
The Frenchman’s lack of defensive discipline and composure while playing in the double pivot was evident once again on Sunday. Pogba displayed little urgency on the pitch and had negligible offensive impact in the game. He did little without the ball either and was a passenger for the majority of the game.
Pogba was strangely kept on after the break, with Solskjaer offering him greater freedom by bringing in Fred and Scott McTominay. However, the Frenchman did nothing worth remembering in the opposition half.
He did, however, allow Serge Aurier to jog past him and score Tottenham’s fifth goal of the game. The Frenchman then conceded a penalty that allowed Tottenham Hotspur to go 6-1 ahead. That perhaps summed up his night for Manchester United.
#1 Harry Maguire
Harry Maguire’s arrival brought much-needed solidity in the Manchester United backline last season, and he was even handed the armband after Ashley Young’s departure.
While the Englishman had his flaws, the improvements in the back were visible for everyone to see. This season, however, the Red Devils have looked poor at the back in the Premier League, and Lindelof was pointed out as the weak link at the back. But against Tottenham, it was Maguire who endured perhaps his worst game in a Manchester United shirt, which raises questions about the fragile state of the United backline once again.
The Englishman started by churning up the Tottenham equaliser by making an insane header back towards his own goal. He then fouled Kane and allowed his countryman to take a quick free-kick that caught the Manchester United defense off-guard.
After Manchester United went a man down, as the skipper, Maguire should have assembled his team and kept them inspired. However, he failed to stand up and be counted.
Manchester United continued to ship in goals as Maguire remained a spectator at the back, with his performance in the middle of the backline being one of his poorest in recent times.. Even without Martial’s red card, it is hard to imagine how a Manchester United team with such a defense could have survived the night against a rampant Tottenham side.
The Manchester United defense has now shipped in 12 goals in the first three games of the Premier League this season, with Harry Maguire being the omnipresent figure at the back in all three games.
