39 minutes: Big stop from Onana! Werner is one-on-one with the United keeper, but he blurs his lines. That came when United had sent too many men forward and Spurs, as they have consistently done, cut them to shreds.

38 minutes: Garnacho and Rashford certainly looked quite dangerous at half-time.

“Spurs’ midfield is doing very well in conditions that are impossible for them to train for,” he says Anthony Griffin by email. “They are consistently passed by both teams’ defenses.”

37 minutes: Garnacho hits the post! It would have been a brilliant volley as he met Rashford’s cross from deep on the left.

That gets the crowd going a bit.

36 minutes: United finally get ahead on the counter, but there are groans as Zirkzee opts to slow down. In the end it yields little.

Can they produce something before halftime? Just the one opportunity that stands out so far.

34 minutes: Every time I look up from my screen, United have given the ball away. Mazraroui flies late to Udogie and is booked.

33 minutes: You have to give Spurs credit for the pressure they put on the hosts. It’s incessant. Udogie saw another attempt fly over the bar, but it was deflected by De Ligt. The away team sensed another goal.

Romero shoots wide from a cross.

30 minutes: James Maddison must think Christmas has come early. He’s running this game. Onana saves his shot, which resulted from another United error on the ball.

29 minutes: If you’re not watching and want to get an idea of ​​the game, try to imagine the worst Man United performance you can imagine. It’s worse than that.

28 minutes: Last ditch efforts from Mazrauou to deny a lurking Werner at the back post. Good reading of the game and solid play.

But back, Spurs… they’ve been on top for almost the entire game.

27 minutes: Joshua Zirkzee has not played the best match so far. He has quality on the ball but is not quick and at times looks ill-suited for United when they try to play transition and counter-attack football as they do now. Rasmus Højlund will certainly play a role at some point.

‘It should be 3-0 for Spurs’ says Mary Waltz in an email. “United looks confused. But they are only one goal behind and Spurs need to take advantage of United’s dismal play before United get a lucky counter.”

United finally get going with 24 minutes on the clock, so Mary could be right.

23 minutes: United’s first chance of the game and it’s a big one! Garnacho puts it in Mainoo, whose cut isn’t perfect for Zirkzee, but it’s not bad. The big Dutchman stretches, but Vicario catches the net.

22 minutes: Bad news for Spurs: Destiny Udogie is down and injured. Postecoglou will pray that he is well; the left back is a crucial player in this team and there is no natural replacement on the bench.

20 minutes: Johnson could have a brace but hits the post! It’s a knife through butter stuff from Spurs, quickly crossed to the Welshman on the right, whose shot over the keeper hits the upright.

With almost a quarter of this game played, United have not had a single shot or barely a touch in Tottenham’s penalty area.

An email:

Letting Van de Ven run through the defense was pretty poor from United, but it’s really Dalot who has to take the majority of the blame for that goal. He simply stopped following Johnson. He jogged while Johnson ran. They were practically together when Van de Ven won the ball, but they didn’t show the same desire to get back. Why (Harry) Amass didn’t have a chance is beyond me. With regard to certain players, Ten Hag falls into the Solskjaer mentality of “it doesn’t matter how you play, you’re in the team”. Johannes Barry

17 minutes: Three or four times already United players have just passed the ball out of play. How did you arrange that if you are Erik ten Hag?

15 minutes: Today is the battle between Uruguay’s central midfielders and on this early evidence, Rodrigo Bentancur appears to be giving Manuel Ugarte an absolute education. Ugarte has been chasing shadows – not all his fault – while Bentancur was on the brink of demise in that deep pivotal role.

13 minutes: Udogie shoots over… There is no respite for the hosts as he comes straight at them.

United have been absolutely woeful so far.

11 minutes: It could be 2-0. Maddison dances through the United defense, takes a nice one-two and almost thinks of Onana in the way he scored at home last week. The goalkeeper gets (just) enough of it.

10 minutes: It’s all very hectic as Onana plays a long ball over the top, sending Spurs back. Rashford’s attempt is parried by Vicario. He’s offside anyway.

8 minutes: In my view, there is no blame on Rashford for Spurs’ opening goal. He tried to move forward. Four to five players behind him had the opportunity to tackle Van de Ven and did not do so. No one flagged Brennan Johnson either.

7 minutes: United cannot live with the cruelty of the Tottenham press. Ugarte has already picked the pocket a few times, almost creating a chance for Maddison this last time. There is so much space for the Spurs attackers it’s absurd.

5 minutes: The murmurs of discontent around Old Trafford have already begun. United just haven’t started yet. Have traces.

GOAL! Man Utd 0-1 Spurs (Johnson 3)

2 minutes: United are in the now usual 4-4-2 shape without the ball. I suspect it will be more of a 4-2-3-1 or 4-2-4 in possession. Spurs show the early initiative thanks to their usual high pressing.

KILL

Keely Hodgkinson from Greater Manchester will be introduced to the crowd at Old Trafford before kick-off. Insert pun about a golden performance.

12 years ago today. Twelve years!

There are some red card candidates in both starting lineups to be fair to Richard. Romero, Udogie, Bentancur, Ugarte, Martinez…

Postecoglou tells Sky about Son’s absence: “Short turnaround from Thursday evening, so it just wasn’t good for today. We’ve missed key players before.

“You’re facing a big club in an iconic stadium… your guys (Sky) are here so it’s the kind of game you want to be involved in.”

An email from Richard Hirst before kick-off:

I can’t see this finish XI v XI. Lots of space for both midfield confrontation and kamikaze last man defense. Red cards everywhere – nice.

This is not what we want to see in the modern game.

Good news for United. Their women’s side has just recorded a hard-fought 1-0 win over Everton. The Spurs women will soon take on Aston Villa.

Manchester United are winless in their last three games against Tottenham; before that they had won four when they came up against them. The only thing we need to be guaranteed today is goals. There has only been one 1-0 draw between these two sides in the last fourteen meetings, and there has not been a goalless draw between them for over a decade.

The last time United failed to score at least two at home against Spurs was when they were beaten 6-1 at home by Jose Mourinho’s side in 2020 – the day Son scored two and United more than had ten men for an hour. Ten Hag’s team has its problems and Postecoglou’s football can be sparkling… but a repeat of that score today is difficult to imagine.

It begs the question Why, Erik, did you drop him on the bench during his visit to Crystal Palace last week? Rashford has traditionally played well against Tottenham, mind you, with three home goals against Spurs in the recent past.

As for this game, here’s some pre-match reading on both sides, with Ten Hag calling for patience as he integrates some of United’s young signings and Spurs’ new signing Dom Solanke quickly gaining confidence.

The final stages of Ipswich v Villa look very interesting indeed, if that’s your bag. Daniel Harris is completely over it.

Team news

Preamble