Manchester United 3-0 Tottenham Hotspur: 3 things we learned

Cristiano Ronaldo is still the man for the big occasion

Since his arrival in the summer questions have been asked about whether Cristiano Ronaldo is the right fit for this team or not. And to be honest, a lot of those questions are natural.

Since coming in, Ronaldo has continued to find the back of the net at an impressive rate but the team as a whole has appeared to take a step back and struggled for results.

But on this occasion, Ronaldo was absolutely superb. He scored a brilliant goal and then set up Edinson Cavani’s one as well. It is safe to say that the Portuguese legend remains the man for the big occasion.

Of course, it will be interesting to see whether Solskjaer continues to pair him up with Cavani up top as he appeared to thrive in the role against Tottenham Hotspur today.

Solskjaer might have found a new system

Coming into the game, Solskjaer would have known that he needed to change things up. And that is exactly what he did by going for a completely different system.

The Norwegian manager went with three at the back with Luke Shaw and Aaron Wan-Bissaka as the wingbacks. Fred and Scott McTominay were the duo in midfield with Bruno Fernandes retaining his attacking midfield position.

But instead of wingers, he went with a front two of Ronaldo and Cavani, and the system worked like a treat on this occasion. Manchester United put in their most dominant performance of the season since the opening day win against Leeds United. They looked better both going forward and at the back, keeping just their second clean sheet of the season, and this might be the way to go for this team from here on.

Chelsea have used a similar system since the arrival of Thomas Tuchel to tremendous success. It will be interesting to see if Solskjaer’s Manchester United side can replicate that.