A delighted Erik ten Hag praised Manchester United’s “best team performance” of the season after a 2-0 defeat of Tottenham, but the manager again had to deal with the distraction of Cristiano Ronaldo walking down the Old Trafford tunnel before the end of the match without the manager’s permission.
Goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes secured United’s sixth win of the campaign. After home wins over Liverpool and Arsenal, three top-six sides have now been beaten at Old Trafford.
Ten Hag said: “I am pleased with the team – it was the best performance so far this season so you see a team developing, you already see the last weeks [how] we want to play.
We get every day better on the pitch. Not every game will be like today but Spurs is a magnificent team and it was really enjoyable to watch.” Ronaldo had been dropped for Marcus Rashford and after Scott McTominay, Anthony Elanga and Christian Eriksen were introduced as second-half substitutes the Portuguese headed for the United dressing room before the final whistle without permission, as he had done before the end of July’s friendly against Rayo Vallecano.