Tottenham 2-0 Manchester United: Christian Eriksen's strike after just 11 seconds and a Phil Jones own goal see hosts dominate against top-four rivals

• e-mail

It took Tottenham 11 seconds to score, and Marouane Fellaini seven minutes to be substituted, and that should tell you all you need to know.

Tottenham are in the ascendancy now, making serious ground on the top four, while Manchester United have slipped to 15 points adrift of their City rivals, the same distance that exists between Burnley in seventh and bottom of the table West Brom.

This was very much not their night and if the margin of victory appears comfortable, note it could have been more. Tottenham were denied a clear penalty and Son Heung-min missed the chance of the night, shooting straight at David de Gea after 69 minutes. It is fair to say Harry Kane, in a good position at the far post, was unimpressed. Against that, he too had several good opportunities, but erred in unfamiliar fashion. Had Tottenham been more clinical in front of goal this could have been embarrassing. 

Tottenham enjoyed a dream start to proceedings when Christian Eriksen fired them ahead after just 11 seconds

Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea could do nothing about the strike after his defence let him down

Eriksen wheels away with joy after scoring the fastest ever goal that United have ever conceded in Premier League history

Tottenham's Danish playmaker was full of delight as the majority inside Wembley roared in ecstasy 

It was certainly a night to forget for Fellaini, who picked up a knee injury 30 seconds after coming on, and left shortly after, stomping down the tunnel, ditching his red shirt as he went. Some cynically thought his substitution a Jose Mourinho diversionary tactic, bringing a player on after 63 minutes, hooking him after 70, creating controversy to take focus from the match; but even he would have known this narrative was beyond repair. 

It is only the second time in 87 matches that United have succumbed to defeat by more than a one goal margin, and it could have been worse. As big a chasing as United received against Manchester City before Christmas? Quite probably.

Tottenham will move into the top four if they can secure three points at Anfield on Sunday and, on this form, who knows? Both goals were scored in the first half but, if anything, they were better in the second. They put four past Liverpool here earlier in the season and could have won by a similar margin on Wednesday night, too. By the end of the game, United, a team most had pegged as second only to Manchester City this season, looked as if they wanted to be anywhere but Wembley. It had been Tottenham's victory, start to finish.

David Pleat, a Tottenham manager who came every bit as close to winning the league in his time as Mauricio Pochettino, once said that anything happening in the first five minutes of the game should be discounted from the tactical analysis. The shape of the play, Pleat argued, hadn't been formed yet, and supposedly major events, such as goals, could occur quite randomly.

This was a game that resisted that logic. Tottenham were ahead after 11 seconds in a manner that absolutely reflected what then unfolded. Yes, there was one odd random element in play, but it told the story: Tottenham alert, keen and aggressive, Manchester United startled, sluggish and slow to react. The controversy shouldn't detract from the moment.

MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS, PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE

Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1): Lloris 7, Trippier 7.5, Vertonghen 7, Sanchez 7, Davies 7; Dier 7, Dembele 7.5 (Wanyama 89mins); Eriksen 8.5, Alli 7.5 (Sissoko 87), Son 7.5 (Lamela 80); Kane 7. 

Subs not used: Rose, Vorm, Llorente, Walker-Peters.

Booked: Dembele, Alli.

Goals: Eriksen 1, Jones 28 (OG) 

Manager: Mauricio Pochettino 8.

Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea 7.5; Valencia 6, Jones 4, Smalling 5, Young 5.5; Pogba 5 (Mata 63, 5), Matic 6; Martial 7, Lingard 6 (Fellaini 63, 4; Herrera 70, 5), Sanchez 5.5; Lukaku 6.5. 

Subs not used: Rojo, Rashford, Romero, Herrera, Shaw. 

Booked: Jones, Young. 

Manager: Jose Mourinho 5. 

Referee: Andre Marriner 5. 

Attendance: 81,978.

Season at a glance

• Live tables
• Fixtures
• Scores

• Premier League
• Premier League
• Championship
• League One
• League Two
• Scottish Premiership
• Scottish Div 1
• Scottish Div 2
• Scottish Div 3
• Ligue 1
• Serie A
• La Liga
• Bundesliga

• More tables
• More fixtures
• More scores

CLICK HERE to view our brilliant Match Zone including the move for Christian Eriksen's goal for Tottenham against Manchester United.

 

Advertisement

United's reply to going 1-0 down saw Romelu Lukaku come close to getting on the end of this ball - but he was offside

Alexis Sanchez (left) made his Premier League bow for United following his January swap deal from Arsenal

Sanchez was soon in the thick of the action as he battled for the ball alongside Tottenham's star striker Harry Kane

Mourinho speaks with Paul Pogba on the sidelines as the visitors try to find a way back into the encounter

Tottenham were sharp and on their toes, Manchester United on their heels. Even if Mourinho fancied a moan about the infringement the officials missed in the build-up, he resisted and blamed his players for not paying attention to lessons learned in preparation. Undoubtedly, he hated what he saw.

Yes, Kane had started running and was a yard or so inside the Manchester United half when Tottenham kicked off. If VAR had been in service, the goal that resulted would not have been allowed. Having said that, it was a minor infringement and does not excuse United's defence for what followed. 

It wouldn't have mattered where Kane stood, had United been able to defend a straightforward long ball. Jan Vertonghen hit one, the ball passed back to him from kick-off, but Kane beat Phil Jones to head it down to Dele Alli. He was marshalled by Chris Smalling but without sufficient determination and switched the play with a backheel into the path of Eriksen. A splendid finish followed, leaving David De Gea no chance. 

And that was, pretty much, the story of the next 90 minutes. Jones and Smalling all at sea against Kane and Tottenham's forward movement and while United had chances of their own, Tottenham were more resilient against them.

True, after just two minutes, Hugo Lloris was called into action to save at the feet of Jesse Lingard and Anthony Martial had several chances and was United's best forward on the night, but it was Tottenham's high tempo that posed the threat and after 26 minutes Kane should have made it two. He was played in, beautifully, by Eriksen, who was having a stormer, but his finish was tame.

However, United's evening went from bad to worse when centre back Phil Jones put through his own net

Tottenham full back Kieran Trippier celebrates after it was his low cross into the box that Jones inadvertently scored

Pochettino's side celebrate as a team after the own goal helped them establish a commanding lead against top-four rivals

Jose Mourinho and his backroom staff were clearly less than impressed watching United being outplayed by their opponents

United captain Antonio Valencia produces this sliding tackle on Tottenham's Dele Alli during the first half at Wembley

Heung-Min Son reacts after seeing a chance go just wide of De Gea's far post as Tottenham seek a third in the second half

United were clearly rocking and in full backs Ben Davies and Kieran Trippier, Tottenham possess arguably the best pairing in the Premier League right now. Davies made a quite brilliant tackle on Martial to thwart a United attack and in the 28th minute Trippier was the architect of the second of the night. 

Eriksen started the ball rolling again, but it was Trippier's early cross that did the damage – and how often have we said that this season? He whipped it in and sucked Jones into calamity. Attempting to clear, he succeeded only in diverting the ball with venom into his own goal. It was almost a backheel flick. Had Dennis Bergkamp scored it for Arsenal in his pomp, it would have contended for goal of the season.

It could have been more had Tottenham been given the penalty they deserved after 31 minutes when Alli was taken out by Antonio Valencia. The only explanation for not giving it was that Alli's reputation preceded him and, like Luis Suarez in his final season with Liverpool, he now finds it hard to get the benefit of the doubt - or any benefit at all - from referees. Either that or Andre Marriner had decided to take one for the team and try to get VAR introduced by Saturday.

There were a number of outstanding performance in the Tottenham ranks, but Eriksen was first among them. Had Kane, or Eric Dier, or Son converted any of the chances he created, he could have ended the night on four assists, minimum. 

As for Alexis Sanchez, on his league debut, he was booed with every touch as one would expect of an ex-Arsenal man. Tellingly, though, little booing was actually required. Indeed, Kane received one of the biggest cheers of the night, for giving him a clump early on. He knows how to keep in with the locals, that boy.

Pogba tries to get second-placed United going in the second half as they stared at their fourth league defeat of the season

However, the usual United talisman was soon substitute to compound a miserable night for the France midfielder 

Mauricio Pochettino barks out the instructions to his Tottenham side as he ensures their high standards don't drop

After coming on in place of Pogba, Marouane Fellaini (centre) soon found himself replaced by Ander Herrera

Mourinho puts his arm around to Fellaini for comfort after taking off the Belgian midfielder - much to his embarrassment

Fellaini soon took his top off and headed straight for the changing rooms after lasting just seven minutes and 29 seconds

Sanchez endured a Premier League debut to forget as United were completely outclassed by Tottenham