Tottenham Hotspur thrashed 10-man Manchester United 3-0 at Old Trafford on Sunday, adding pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.

Micky van de Ven opened up United’s defence with a blistering run to set up Brennan Johnson with just three minutes on the clock, and it never got better for United from then on.

Bruno Fernandes received a straight red card in the 42^nd minute for a late tackle on James Maddison, giving United a mountain to climb.

It was a challenge they were unable to overcome, with Spurs capitalising on their numerical advantage early in the second half through Dejan Kulusevski before Dominic Solanke tapped home a third.

Ange Postecoglou’s side rise to eighth with 10 points, while United slip to 12th, behind Brentford on goal difference.

How the match unfolded

Van de Ven set the stage for a brilliant Spurs display when he pounced on Marcus Rashford’s loose touch before marauding 70 yards to the byline and teeing up Johnson for the simplest of back-post tap-ins.

Andre Onana kept United in the contest, making two smothering saves to deny Maddison and Timo Werner either side of Johnson striking the foot of the post.

Alejandro Garnacho volleyed the hosts’ best chance of the first half against the upright, but their day soon got worse as Fernandes received the first red card of his United career, his foot slipping as he stretched so he caught Maddison high on the shin, with VAR confirming the referee’s decision to show a red card.

Johnson was involved in another early goal after the break, racing down the right to tee Kulusevski up, who flicked the ball over Onana in the 47th minute.

United were indebted to their goalkeeper as he made a fine double save to keep out Werner and Solanke soon after, but he was helpless as the latter stretched to direct Pape Sarr’s flick-on into the net to round off a miserable afternoon for Ten Hag.

No let up for Ten Hag

There is little reprieve in the Premier League, and after an up-and-down start to the season, Ten Hag finds himself coming under increasing pressure.

After their 3-0 loss to Liverpool, Red Devils had kept consecutive top-flight clean sheets and looked to be improving on the defensive problems that plagued them last season, but Spurs’ pace in behind saw them come undone time and time again.

There were flashes of promise in the first half, with Joshua Zirkzee poking a first-time shot at Guglielmo Vicario before Garnacho struck the woodwork.

But their hopes of a comeback were hampered when Fernandes received his marching orders, compounding the captain’s poor start to the season.

Mason Mount and Casemiro were introduced to steady the ship, but Spurs were always in control, with Kulusevski and Solanke making sure the scoreline reflected their dominance, even as Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Rasmus Hojlund squandered chances for a United consolation.

Ten Hag is no stranger to scrutiny since taking the job at Old Trafford, but after failing to win any of the last three matches in all competitions and with tricky tests against Porto and Aston Villa in the Europa League and Premier League respectively coming up, he will be hoping to find a solution quickly.

Son-less Spurs shrug off away day blues

Postecoglou may have played down the seriousness of Son Heung-min’s injury from Spurs’ Europa League tie on Thursday, but when the Tottenham captain was left out of the squad, it was certainly seen as a blow to the visitors.

The absence of their most creative player so far this season did not affect Spurs in any way though, as they made a lightning-quick start, mainly thanks to Van de Ven’s assertiveness and searing pace.

Postecoglou will perhaps be left scratching his head as to how they did not score more as they ran riot in the final third, their front three along with Maddison and Kulusevski providing constant outlets as Onana made big saves to keep the scoreline down, while Sarr headed wide late on too.

But, with a first away win of the Premier League season under their belt, Postecoglou has solved a big problem, and just in time with a trip to Brighton Spurs’ next task in the top flight.

Club reports

United report | Spurs report

Match officials

Referee: Chris Kavanagh (pictured). Assistants: Lee Betts, Richard West. Fourth official: Craig Pawson. VAR: Peter Bankes. Assistant VAR: Simon Long.