Manchester United see the benefits without Marcus Rashford despite Tottenham defeat

One down, two to go for the season on the trophy front. What a go Manchester United gave it at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

It is small mercies for Ruben Amorim that United's calendar will now have two free midweeks in January. United threatened another evocative comeback at Tottenham yet their back-up goalkeeper denied them a remarkable recovery.

Amorim is yet to master rotation and he may rein it in after Altay Bayindir's egregious errors. His air-punch from Son Heung-min's winner - direct from a corner - was replayed to pantomime cheers on the four large screens.

Bayindir had the temerity to appeal and was booked. The referee also flourished the yellow card at Bruno Fernandes, always prone to protesting a pointless cause. There was no VAR and it was not needed.

This result and performance are a more reliable gauge of the issues that Amorim will have to address than Sunday's Manchester derby. That physical aspect that Amorim opined United had to improve was glaringly exposed here, as Dominic Solanke treated Lisandro Martinez as no more of an obstacle than a training cone.

With full backs for wingers and an incompatible front three, United fired blanks until the cavalry arrived. What will particularly smart is they were the better side for the majority of this chaotic contest.

United's approach play in the first half was promising, there were clear-cut chances for Christian Eriksen and Antony, Manuel Ugarte oozed authority in midfield, Eriksen was vintage at times and Leny Yoro demonstrated why United invested so heavily in him.

Yet Tottenham had sharper tools in the box. Literally. Solanke pounced on Bayindir's haphazard goalkeeping and Dejan Kulusevski was teed up by a lazy clearance from Martinez. It was 3-0 after