Erik ten Hag has been placed under the spotlight as Tottenham Hotspur claimed a dominant victory over a 10-man Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag’s men were labelled an “absolute disgrace” by club legend Gary Neville as fans began to vacate their seats after 77 chastening minutes.
United’s troubling performance was not helped when Bruno Fernandes was sent off three minutes before the break for a dangerous challenge on James Maddison.
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The United captain declared he should not have been sent off for the act that saw him shown a straight red for the first time in his career.
“Nobody wants to be sent off, it’s not a good feeling,” said Fernandes, who took the unusual decision of stepping up for post-match interviews following his dismissal.
“I didn’t go with the studs. It’s never a red card. Even James Maddison when he gets up, he said it’s not a red card.”
Fernandes appeared to slip when attempting a tackle in Tottenham’s half – but then raised his foot and caught Maddison on the shin in a studs-up challenge.
Referee Christopher Kavanagh immediately brandished a red card.
“If this is a red card we have to look at many other incidents,” Fernandes said.
“It is a foul. There is not much contact. If he (the referee) wants to give me a yellow, I agree. I don’t understand why VAR doesn’t call him to the screen.”
According to Opta, which provides statistics for the league, Fernandes became the fourth United captain to be sent off in a Premier League game at Old Trafford.
He joined Roy Keane, Nemanja Vidic and Wayne Rooney on that list.
There have been many occasions like this under Erik ten Hag. When his team has looked bereft of ideas and confidence. When a stadium known as the Theatre of Dreams has become the stuff of nightmares.
“First we have to deal with this and show resilience. This is not good enough,” ten Hag admitted afterward.
“We have to accept this and get better. Focus on the next game and do things better than we did today.”
Tottenham’s victory mirrored Liverpool’s win by the same margin in United’s previous Premier League home game at the start of the month.
Ten Hag said similar things back then, but problems persist.
The record 20-time champions are 12th in the standings after just one win in its last five games in the league.
United has also failed to win any of its last three games in all competitions and there were boos inside the stadium from some of the fans that remained at the final whistle.
Spurs supporters were even more brutal during the game, chanting: “You’re getting sacked in the morning.”
Ten Hag, who only held onto his job after winning the FA Cup last season and being subjected to an end of year review, said such thoughts weren’t on his mind — even in the face of such a troubled start to the campaign and a slew of changes made under new minority owner Jim Ratcliffe.
“I’m not thinking about this. We all made, in togetherness, this decision to stay together,” he said, adding that all parties “knew it would take some time”.
The result positions Tottenham eighth in the Premier League standings after a rocky start to the season.
Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou, who has been under fire for his team’s performances in recent weeks, was elated by the result.
“Outstanding,” he said.
“We were real good. Obviously it is a great victory. That is everything we want to be.
“I thought we showed real belief and conviction.
“We were aggressive with and without the ball. A fantastic all-round performance.”