25  Antonio VALENCIA
  4  Phil JONES
12  Chris SMALLING
17  Daley BLIND

  8  Juan MATA        (44  Andreas PEREIRA 77)
16  Michael CARRICK    (  2  RAFAEL 87)
21  Ander HERRERA

31  Marouane FELLAINI    (  9  Radamel FALCAO 83)
10  Wayne ROONEY (c) 
18  Ashley YOUNG

Unused subs: 
13  Anders LINDEGAARD
11  Adnan JANUZAJ
42  BLACKETT
49  James WILSON

  2  Kyle WALKER
  5  Jan VERTONGHEN
15  Eric DIER
  3  Danny ROSE      

38  Ryan MASON  (11  Erik LAMELA 64)
42  Nabil BENTALEB

22  Nacer CHADLI  (10  Emmanuel ADEBAYOR 79)
23  Christian ERIKSEN
17  Andros TOWNSEND (19  Mousa DEMBELE 31)

18  Harry KANE

Unused subs: 
13  Michel VORM
33  Ben DAVIES
  6  Vlad CHIRICHES
  8  PAULINHO
 

Not a lot to write home about from an away game for a change, as the status quo returned with Manchester United steam-rollering a pale shadow of the Spurs side we have come to know and the 3-0 half-time score could easily have been worse, but at least Tottenham showed a little more in the second period, without any end result.

With only one change to the Spurs side, you might have expected that they would be more settled, but the enforced changes Louis van Gaal had to put into place appeared to make United a more dynamic unit, with the ponderous and disappointing di Maria and Evans out, along with Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo making way. 

Almost before the game had started, Slurs were behind, but they could so easily have been in front.  Within two minutes, pressure on Phil Jones, he hit a firm back-pass wide of de Gea, but not of the goal and only a late lunge with his foot by the Spanish keeper kept the ball out at the expense of a corner.  From it, a low ball played into the near post by Townsend was allowed to run across the six yard box by being left at the front stick and Harry Kane tried to turn on it, but might have taken it away from Vertonghen behind him, who could have had a clear shot on.

As it was, United began to ping the ball around with pace and this took out a number of our players, with Walker experiencing a tough time against the United left hand side, with Townsend not giving a lot of protection in front of him.  Nine minutes had gone when the home team struck, with a simply made goal.  A straight pass through the Spurs back four left Fellaini through in the left hand side of the area, after his run had not been tracked, giving him the chance to shoot low past Lloris' left hand and into the bottom corner of the net for 1-0.  The usually good picking up of opponents was distinctly missing as a straight ball cut through the back four.

United might have done better a minute before, when Rooney went down the left wing and pulled a low ball back, but it went behind Mata and too far in front of Herrera, so Spurs managed to survive that one.  Tottenham's midfield was getting by-passed as United played the ball wide and moved to receive the return pass, with Fellaini being their target man for the out ball.  Spurs were chasing shadows as they tried to close down the red shirts, but their movement made it difficult to keep up with them. 

In the 19th minute, United extended their lead with a goal from a corner, where Spurs were slow to react.  Mata played a high ball in for Fellaini to win a header, although it looked like he was pushing down on Dier.  The ball struck Nacer Chadli and as it bounced up off his leg, Michael Carrick ran in to plant a header wide of Hugo and into the bottom right corner of the goal to double their advantage. 

After a break in the 27th minute, Fellaini played a low ball across the six yard box and Rose slid in at the far post, but left the ball, which confused Mata who was behind him and had a real good shooting chance if he had been alive to the situation.  Shortly after that, Pochettino decided that he had to shore up the right side and replaced Townsend with Dembele, but initially, this had little effect.  Mason nearly got away after he turned Mata, but the United midfielder cynically brought him down and was booked for it.  But Tottenham literally set up the third United goal, with Bentaleb playing a lazy ball across midfield, which was picked up by Rooney, who drove at Vertonghen and then brushed past Dier to slot home past Lloris' right when into the box.  This was too reminiscent of games past at Old |Trafford, when Clattenburg has been ref.

With ten minutes to half time and 0-3 behind, the team looked well beaten already.  Rooney could have two more before the break, putting a weak volley wide form Fellaini's good cross and then curling wide when well-placed inside the area.  The half-time break would not have been long enough for Pochettino to get across what he wanted for the second half, but despite the score-line, the teams took to the field with the Tottenham fans in good voice. 

Kane was getting scant service from his team-mates and the United back four were on him as soon as he received the ball, with Christian Eriksen not getting in the game and not providing the supply of quality balls that the other attacking players needed.  Rooney threatened when an intended forward pass fell for him and his shot went way too high, then Blind ran onto a cross that beat everyone and Bentaleb threw himself to block the shot.  Herrera hit the side-netting when coming in from their right, being picked out with a long cross from the left, thankfully not being able to finish from a tight angle.

In between Tottenham had their first shot at goal, when Chadli played the ball to Mason, who stepped inside a challenge and hit a shot from the edge of the box, but dragged it left of the goal.  Herrera had a low shot fly a yard wide of LLoris' right hand post, but Tottenham had the ball in more advanced positions for a change, although they created little to trouble de Gea.  He was forced into his first save a minute from the end of the match.  Lamela played a neat pass to his right to put Kane through on the right of the box and from a narrow angle, he drove low to the keeper's near post, but de Gea managed to sit on the ball as it threatened to squeeze underneath him.

For once, van Gaal got his team selection and tactics right and other teams might look at this when they play Spurs.  I hope that we will not put in such an insipid performance between now and the end of the season, as it will lead to us missing out on European football altogether.  The break of the ball went United's way for the most of the time and Clattenburg was leaning towards the home side in most situations.  Substitute Pereira chopped down Danny Rose and the ref indicated that he could have that one, but then he later nearly took Bentaleb's head with a high boot.  Similarly, a studs up challenge on Mason's thigh by Fellaini didn't even get a free-kick.

All being said, Spurs did  well ... did well to make Phil Jones and Chris Smalling look like world-class players.  And to allow the United side to play like world-beaters, with the pressing game fading soon after the first five minutes and a couple of players having complete 'mares.  Little blame could be attached to Hugo Lloris, who must be getting fed up with conceding goals, but few other members of the team can claim a lot of positives out of the game.  Lamela must have been our best tackler and he was only on the pitch for 26 minutes.  I suppose we should be glad the score didn't get worse after the interval, but that was as much down to United taking their foot off the pedal.

Tottenham were poor today and helped United with no immediacy in their movement or accuracy in use of the ball.  Unite din turn, put in their best performance of the season, whereas on another day, when they weren't this good and we were, it might have been different.  This should be turned into a useful exercise by looking at what the team did wrong and making sure it doesn't happen too often in the future ... and the near future at that. 

We can't afford slip-ups against the top sides now, let alone those in the bottom half we still have to play.

Peter O'Hanraharahan

He slags off Mourinho (quite rightly) for his team's antics in Europe in mid-week, but then he advised Eric Dier that he should have fouled Rooney before he got the third goal for United, stating that he was outside the box and should have taken a yellow card for the sake of the team. 

While every other team, including United today, foul cynically when players get away from them, perhaps Souness should be a little more even-handed in his comments and continue criticising those who play outside the laws of the game ... whoever they play for.