Tottenham were excellent from the outset in an eventful first half despite the absence of injured captain Heung-min Son, with Postecoglou resisting the urge to move Kulusevski into the attack and bring in another midfielder as he instead opted to hand Timo Werner his first Premier League start of the season. They settled quickly and were ahead inside three minutes, Micky van de Ven seizing possession after a heavy touch from Marcus Rashford and embarking upon a breathtaking, surging run all the way from his own half to the byline before providing an inch-perfect low cross for Johnson to tap home his fourth goal in as many games from point-blank range.
Spurs continued to cut through sluggish United at will as the chances piled up, Andre Onana denying the busy James Maddison and Destiny Udogie firing off target as confident Johnson hit the post. Onana also denied Werner one-on-one and Cristian Romero sent an acrobatic effort from a Pedro Porro cross agonisingly wide of the far post. Woeful United were not clicking anywhere on the pitch, though did strike the woodwork themselves when a slipping Alejandro Garnacho lashed a volley against the post after being picked out by Rashford.
Things went from bad to worse for the hosts when Fernandes slipped as he went to challenge Maddison and ended up planting his foot underneath the knee of the England midfielder and received a straight red card. It looked harsh, but the VAR was never likely to overturn referee Chris Kavanagh's on-field decision. If that wasn't bad enough, Kobbie Mainoo also went straight down the tunnel after being replaced by Mason Mount - who would also later go off with a bleeding gash to the head.
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