Man Utd 0-3 Tottenham player ratings: Fernandes sees red as Spurs dominate sorry Red Devils

Two struggling Big Six rivals met at Old Trafford when Manchester United hosted Tottenham in this weekend’s most highly anticipated Premier League clash.

Both came into matchday six having accumulated seven points, but with contrasting form. United were held to back-to-back frustrating draws against Crystal Palace and then FC Twente in Europe, while Spurs displayed resilience in their comeback win over Brentford prior to a Europa League success over Qarabag, which saw them go down to 10 men early on.

Visiting head coach Ange Postecoglou was dealt a setback before kick-off when influential captain and talisman Son Heung-Min would not be available. Tottenham had won just two of their last 11 Premier League away games before today (five draws and four losses).

The absence of Son should have galvanised United, but instead, Spurs proved they’re not a one-man team. They raced into a 1-0 lead before finishing off 10-man United, with Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke getting on the scoresheet and Bruno Fernandes taking an early shower.

It’s a result that leaves United head coach Erik ten Hag on the brink as well as boosting Spurs further into a busy autumn schedule.

Man Utd player ratings

• André Onana: 72%

Completely exposed by United’s laissez-faire defending before they became a man light. Despite conceding three goals, it could have been even worse. He produced seven saves, with five of those coming inside the penalty area. Onana prevented 0.46 goals (based on Opta’s ‘goals prevented’ metric).

• Noussair Mazraoui: 53%

The first of five Man Utd players to see yellow today was Mazraoui. He was given a worrying time by Timo Werner and subsequently won two tackles and made one successful interception. He did manage to win possession six times in the defensive third.

• Matthijs de Ligt: 50%

A forgettable outing for the other Dutch centre-back in this match. De Ligt managed to block three shots and win a single aerial duel.

• Lisandro Martínez: 57%

The far more active of United’s central defensive pairing. Martínez produced four clearances and seven interceptions, with two of those coming in the penalty box. He also had an 88.33% retention rate, which is the percentage of touches that do not result in losing possession.

• Diogo Dalot: 55%

This was a below-par game for the usually reliable Dalot, even when utilised as United’s back-up left-back in Luke Shaw’s absence. He produced three interceptions and won a single aerial duel.

• Manuel Ugarte: 51%

His reputation as a tackling monster precedes him, but Ugarte was swamped and managed to win both attempted tackles. Furthermore, he boasted a 91.67% retention rate, the highest of any United player.

• Kobbie Mainoo: 48%

The sacrificial lamb after Bruno Fernandes picked up his first sending-off in a Man Utd jersey. Mainoo, before making way for Mason Mount, had won two tackles and boasted an impressive 91.67% retention rate given the circumstances.

• Alejandro Garnacho: 55%

Not much from today, as Garnacho completed one take-on and had three shots on goal, all of which went off target.

• Bruno Fernandes: 35%

His outing lasted 42 minutes after Chris Kavanagh had no choice but to show him a red card following a ridiculous challenge on James Maddison. While on the pitch, Fernandes created a single chance while producing eight passes into the final third.

• Marcus Rashford: 47%

Only played 77 minutes of this contest, and one wonders if that should have been as many, given another lethargic showing. Rashford, with no attempts on goal, created one chance and completed his sole take-on attempt.

• Joshua Zirkzee: 55%

Had one shot on goal that did not hit the target, though he finished with an xG of 0.25, the most of any United player, though just a tad better than Martinez (0.24), which is perhaps a further indictment of the wayward Dutch forward.

Tottenham player ratings

• Guglielmo Vicario: 66%

Forced into making two saves, Vicario was hardly troubled beneath Spurs’ crossbar as he ended the game preventing 0.28 goals.

• Pedro Porro: 70%

A late yellow card was a blemish on his performance. Porro created one big chance while completing a single take-on and tackle won, respectively.

• Cristian Romero: 72%

Cristian Romero attempted 115 passes in this game, the highest total for a Tottenham player in the Premier League this season.

• Micky van de Ven: 62%

The speedster from Wormer is renowned for chasing down opposition attackers, but he’ll be equally remembered for his lung-busting run from deep to create Brennan Johnson’s opener. It was a relatively quiet game for the Dutchman at the other end, having been forced into making two clearances. He did win possession in the middle third on two occasions.

• Destiny Udogie: 67%

He would come off after half-time, which felt inevitable after sustaining a knock in the opening 45 minutes. Udogie managed to make two interceptions while having two shots on goal.

• Dejan Kulusevski: 71%

Dejan Kulusevski created nine chances for Tottenham in this match, the most on record (since 2003-04) by a visiting player in a Premier League game at Old Trafford.

• Rodrigo Bentancur: 69%
  

A solid outing for Spurs’ deep-lying midfielder, who produced two interceptions, won possession in the middle third on five occasions, while six of his passes went into the final third.

• James Maddison: 55%

He still hasn’t scored against Man Utd, but it wasn’t for want of trying as Maddison produced two shots on goal, one excellently prevented by Onana, which unfortunately goes down as a big chance missed.

• Brennan Johnson: 70%

Brennan Johnson has scored in consecutive Premier League appearances for the first time in his career (79th app today), while he’s now netted four times across all competitions this season – just one fewer than he managed in 34 games for Tottenham last term (5).

• Dominic Solanke: 64%

He had three shots on goal with two going down as big chances missed. However, the other meant he has now scored in three consecutive Premier League appearances against Manchester United, becoming only the third Englishman to do so in the competition (after Jermain Defoe in November 2002 and Bukayo Saka in January 2023 – also three each).

• Timo Werner: 53%

A rare start for the on-loan German forward, who completed two take-on attempts while registering two shots on target.

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