(Football news) Ange Postecoglou’s men played the 20-time English champions off the park at the Theatre of Dreams, where Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke all breached Andre Onana’s goal.
In between Johnson’s third-minute strike and Kulusevski’s finish early in the second half, Manchester United went down to 10 men as Bruno Fernandes was given a straight red card for a high tackle on James Maddison, the first of his Manchester United career.
As well as the impending three-game ban for Fernandes, who will miss clashes against Aston Villa, Brentford and West Ham United, the Manchester United doctors have another three injury victims to worry about.
Harry Maguire was always expected to lose his spot in defence, and Ten Hag unsurprisingly paired Lisandro Martinez up with Matthijs de Ligt, but the Englishman did not even make the bench.
Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount suffer fresh blows
Instead, Victor Lindelof was selected to provide a reserve option in defence, and Maguire was absent after picking up a knock in a recent training session.
It is not clear how severe Maguire’s problem is, though, as Ten Hag did not give an update on his injury in the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s humiliating home defeat.
The centre-back was still in attendance at Old Trafford, where Kobbie Mainoo partnered Manuel Ugarte in midfield, but the England international could not even make it to half time.
Mainoo sat down on the turf after Fernandes’s red-card tackle on Maddison, and he was immediately taken off for Mason Mount in what appeared to have been a tactical change for a brief moment.
However, a dejected Mainoo headed straight down the tunnel with a member of staff rather than joining his teammates on the bench, and it remains to be seen if his issue will be serious enough to rule him out of any imminent fixtures.
Bloodied Mount forced off with head injury
Mainoo’s replacement Mount was then substituted himself towards the end of the game, having been left with blood seeping from the back of his head after a late clash, one which he could not play through.
The ex-Chelsea man’s problem is certainly less of a concern than Mainoo’s as yet unspecified issue, but he could also be out for a couple of weeks due to concussion protocol.
Man United were also without Leny Yoro (foot), Tyrell Malacia (knee) and Luke Shaw (calf) for the three-goal defeat to Tottenham, after which Fernandes blasted Chris Kavanagh’s decision to send him off.
However, the Manchester United captain is still available for Manchester United’s next game, which comes away to Porto in the Europa League on Thursday evening.
Also read: Manchester United get thrashed by Tottenham Hotspurs in the EPL
