Man Utd’s best and worst players from emphatic defeat to Tottenham

Talk about pathetic fallacy, eh? As the clouds darkened and the rain poured, Erik ten Hag stood gormless out over to the Old Trafford turf.

The Theatre of Dreams had evolved into a cesspit of misery as the stands emptied and Tottenham fans revelled in their side’s victory. Spurs were mightily impressive on Sunday afternoon, but there’s no escaping just how poor Manchester United were.

Where does Ten Hag go from here? It’s a question that’s relentlessly been asked over the past two years, and the direction this club is heading under the Dutchman remains ambiguous.

Sunday’s performance was nothing short of a disgrace, and while much of the balame has to be pinned on the manager, these United players certainly didn’t perform anywhere near to the level we think they’re capable of.

Here were the best and worst United performers in their 3-0 defeat to Tottenham based on our player ratings.

Andre Onana – 6/10

If there’s any United player who can escape Old Trafford with an ounce of credibility, it’s Onana. Some of his work with the ball wasn’t great, but the Man Utd goalkeeper ensured that the hosts didn’t succumb to a cricket score.

A rampant Tottenham created NINE big chances and, according to some models, over five expected goals. Onana couldn’t do anything to deny Brennan Johnson and Dominic Solanke, but he was somewhat outwitted by a clever Dejan Kulusevski finish just after half-time.

The Cameroonian shot-stopper didn’t necessarily make outstanding saves and he was aided by a couple of terrible Timo Werner finishes, but he did at least frustrate the visitors by showing some level of competence

Bruno Fernandes – 1/10

Ten Hag can not hide behind Fernandes’ red card on the brink of half-time as mitigation for his team’s abject defeat. Man Utd were comprehensively outplayed when it was 11-v-11, too.

Fernandes rating is, of course, impacted by his red card, which some thought was harsh as he did slip, but he nonetheless caught James Maddison high with a bit of a lunge. The video assistant referee was never going to overturn Chris Kavanagh’s on-pitch decision.

When he was on the pitch, the United skipper had little to no positive influence. Passes were often overhit, ball retention seemed beyond him, and his work without the ball was pretty deplorable. Rodrigo Bentancur had his way with him at the base…