United hosted Tottenham Hotspur in an action-packed game on Sunday (29th September). Spurs came into the Match fresh off a 3-0 thrashing of Azerbaijan side Qarabag and were full of confidence ahead of their trip to Manchester. The Red Devils, on the other hand, were in need of a result after their recent mediocre performances in games many fans would argue they should be winning.
Spurs started the contest with a bang, scoring in the opening 5 minutes of the match. Micky Van de Van pounced on a heavy touch from Marcus Rashford before going on a marauding run from close to the halfway line, piercing through the left-hand side of United before flashing the ball through the 'corridor of uncertainty' for Brennan Johnson to tuck home.
The rest of the first half was one-way traffic from then on, with the Lilywhites making use of their good early start to dominate United. They continued to fashion out dangerous chances, expertly denied by Ghanaian Shot stopper Andre Onana on two occasions they should've scored from. The tie took an unexpected turn when United skipper Bruno Fernandes was controversially sent off shortly after the 40th minute mark for a lousy, frustrated challenge on James Maddison which the referee on the night Chris Kavanagh deemed as violent conduct.
Spurs picked up from where they left off in the first half, scoring their second of the game as Kulusevski squeezed in a tap-in from a Brennan Johnson cross. Tottenham continued to dominate proceedings up until the hour mark when it looked like United were starting to ask questions of their own. Garnacho and Casemiro sought to spring a fightback from the home team, but all hope was eventually lost when United conceded their 3rd goal of the night courtesy of a Spurs corner kick; Dominic Solanke toe-poked the ball home from a flick on by freshly substituted Pape Sarr. The Goal meant the Englishman has now scored in three consecutive games, proving to be an impressive signing for his new side so far.
Red Devil Armada's Man of the Match
As painful as it is to award the Man of the Match to an opposition player (especially when it's at Old Trafford), Kulusevski was mesmerizing against Manchester United. The Swede finished the game with a ridiculous 9 key passes and 3 big chances created. He was a thorn to the United defense throughout the 90 minutes and was a joy to watch, even as a United Fan.