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Man Utd 0-1 Man City (Foden red card 23′, Haaland 60′)

OLD TRAFFORD — In terms of era determination, this was as important a Manchester derby as we have had in a decade.

Back in 2016, a fresh-faced Pep Guardiola was pitted against his old adversary Jose Mourinho in England, knowing that asserting power in Manchester is as important to supporters as any league title.

A comfortable 2-1 win at Old Trafford set the tone for the dominance that was to come from Guardiola’s side. And if you can keep United operating in the shadows, then trophy-laden supremacy is sure to follow.

Back then, while United were beginning their steady fall from grace, the Sir Alex Ferguson glory years were still fresh in the memory, so their place as kings of Manchester, albeit insecurely, was still intact.

#MUNMCI – 59’ VAR OVERTURN

VAR checked the referee’s call of no goal for offside – and determined that Haaland was in an onside position and recommended that the goal was awarded.

The VAR also deemed that while in an offside position, Fernandez didn’t play the ball. pic.twitter.com/TyTip3ACIh

— Premier League Match Centre (@PLMatchCentre) September 13, 2026

Michael Carrick faced the task that Guardiola was presented with on Sunday, in the first non-Pep derby in that time, given how the roles have completely reversed since. And in his lack of bravery over team selection and in-game inflexibility, he blew his golden chance to prove the naysayers, who believe he is out of his depth at this level, wrong.

There was angst in the air ahead of kick-off as hundreds of United supporters gathered for an angry protest against the current ownership. Perhaps the most impactful act came inside the ground. In front of Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the lesser spotted Glazer brothers Joel and Avram, the Stretford End, normally awash with flags and banners, was empty, other than one, hard-hitting riposte: “The way you treat us is a disgrace”.

As has been the hope among the powers that be every time the ownership get a strategic call wrong, it was on the players to quickly shift the mood. Phil Foden provided the hosts with an almighty leg-up, falling for Bruno Fernandes’ attempts to get under his skin, kicking out at the United skipper and becoming only the second City player to be sent off in the Premier League against their great rivals.

You would have needed an abacus to realise either side was down to 10 men, however, with United unable to make their numerical superiority count.

Refereeing decisions nonetheless remained front and centre of the action. Even as Erling Haaland wheeled away to celebrate firing home on the hour mark, he barely mustered a smile, feeling, as all true strikers sense, that he was offside. All of which made City’s celebrations more euphoric as the goal was given after a VAR review, Patrick Dorgu’s foot adjudged to have kept Haaland onside.

Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Marcus Rashford were getting nowhere up front before the opener and even less so after it, with space closed up. And yet, no changes were forthcoming.

Benjamin Sesko should have started the game. In two substitute appearances so far, he is the club’s top goalscorer, but it is the ability to actually give defenders something to think about that makes the Slovenian such a weapon of choice.

Cunha, for all his talent, is not a false nine. To get almost a full game against 10-man City and offer so little is inexcusable, and a damning indictment on a manager who refused to budge.

Sesko was introduced too late, in the 67th minute, and not for Cunha or the equally ineffective Mbeumo, but for Youri Tielemans, thus shifting Fernandes, a player light years ahead of anyone else in terms of creativity, back into a deeper, unfamiliar position.

The famous Clive Tyldesley line lingers in United supporters’ heads whenever they go behind. Except, these days, they don’t always score.

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Carrick’s record since taking over from Ruben Amorim at the start of the year is impressive, but it is in these moments the top managers come to the fore. Enzo Maresca was making changes at half-time, as it wasn’t working. Carrick should have been thinking the same.

Even with 10 men, Maresca was able to change the game with one substitution. Iliman Ndiaye gave City a different dimension.

When Old Trafford was in the middle of losing its mind in 2013 as Nani was sent off against Real Madrid, Mourinho was already making two substutions that won Real Madrid the match. In the biggest moments, elite managers act, those on the outside looking in wait for things to happen.

Four points from four games is exactly the start the United hierarchy didn’t need, after taking the risk in backing Carrick for the next two years.

As many predicted, Carrick was left staring at a City away end “Poznan”, as the chasm between the two rivals remains as wide as ever.

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TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR STADIUM — Four games in and tetchy Tottenham are still keeping their supporters waiting for a first Premier League goal of the season.

In the build up before Everton’s visit to N17, a few Spurs fans, laden with enviable optimism, dared to suggest that one of these days the club will get a return on its investment.

The recent transfer window is yet to prove an exact science for Tottenham: around £350m spent as a reward of sorts for Roberto de Zerbi keeping the Championship waves from lapping at a complacent club’s feet.

Spurs’ inability to score was not a mystery on this occasion, the fourth attempt at securing full league points. Their fluffy fare drew a few boos at the end.

Manager De Zerbi’s insistence that this is a better squad than last season remains tricky to digest. How else could it be, considering the north Londoners had yet to even find the net ahead of the Toffees’ clash – a Carabao cup win over Charlton doesn’t factor in this context – although he could not reasonably say anything else, in light of the summer’s free flowing expenditure.

The paucity of defeat at Brentford on the opening day of the season, a skittish home loss to Newcastle United and single points, eked out at Nottingham Forest last week and on Saturday against Everton, is the sum total of these Tottenham labours. Here, though, was the exact fixture you imagine De Zerbi needed.

A new-look rearguard needs time to settle, admittedly, and the fact that Everton flip-flopped around the thin end of transfer window and came to the capital with sparse choice of attacking options should, theoretically, have set the scene for a belated spark to this campaign.

Beyond the exasperation of seeking points, De Zerbi’s off-season powers of persuasion in regard to Lucas Bergvall and Sandro Tonali needed to be proven the right decision quickly.

First it was “want-away” Bergvall, then it was a new contract for the Swede. The midfielder was on the bench, before a 62nd minute introduction. A long-range effort turned away by Everton keeper Jordan Pickford was as close as Tottenham came to a winner.

How about Tonali, and all £100m of him? The Italian international and De Zerbi’s Brescia backstory helped secure the mercurial playmaker’s services, which should really augur so well for Spurs.

The early, awkward Tottenham stats may suggest otherwise, but there is at least some reassurance with Tonali’s presence. Unhurried and gambolling, so much of the hosts’ play was funnelled through their record signing. He forces patience, borne of experience, across the team. Sometimes, though, you just know the Tottenham faithful crave a dash of sheer, almost irresponsible, elan. Presumably this is why Savio – who flattered to deceive, like the team – was brought to the club.

For De Zerbi and his players, it was not just about a standard-issue league game here. This is undoubtedly the beginning of a big week for Tottenham, and one which can uplift or slant their season. A visit to Anfield in midweek in the Carabao Cup is one in which the ex-Brighton boss is obliged to field his strongest team, with Liverpool’s weightier responsibilities including the Champions League and an actual title challenge.

Moreover, by the time Spurs host Aston Villa next Saturday the concern is that further setbacks could cause intense navel gazing for De Zerbi across a long fortnight.

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Meanwhile, Everton’s early reticence and vulnerability to the odd through-ball by Tonali turned into decent work rate. Despite all Tottenham’s probing and releasing James Maddison for Omar Marmoush late on, De Zerbi continues to oversee little incision in 2026-27. “Put the ball in!” was one such plea from a frustrated Spurs fan.

At least drama has accompanied the Toffees already this season, and not just the vocal outrage from fans directing their ire on a range of pressing matters. Discontent at owners, the Friedkin Group, for a lack of joined-up transfer thinking. Discontent at Moyes’ ultra conservatism.

The Scottish manager may not be every fan’s cup of tea, even now, but few are as adept in gathering something when needs must. Another point, via unfashionable organisation and discipline, is ultimately better received for the Blues than for the proverbially shot-shy Spurs and De Zerbi.

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Perhaps it was inevitable, given the way the game is going. Football is starting to eat itself with its soaring transfer expenditure and rocketing wage bills. The balance sheet has never looked so off-kilter.

To pay for all the outlay, it is the bottom of the food chain who suffer as usual. Supporters at the majority of top clubs have had to endure plenty of ticket price rises over the past few years, with the focus more than ever placed upon corporate customers over regular, local match-goers.

This summer, discontent has continued to grow, nowhere more so than at Manchester United. A controversial crackdown on ticket touts, which led to many longstanding supporters receiving bans, has brought an already fractious relationship between the club and its supporters to breaking point.

Supporter group The 1958 have announced that this Sunday there will be another protest. And rather than the usual generic fan angst towards wealthy and unscrupulous owners, this will focus on the ticket touting clampdown.

The i Paper has spoken to numerous supporters close to the club to find out why the dark clouds will not shift above Old Trafford anytime soon.

United ‘have stopped engaging’

Luca Black recently resigned as U21 representative of the Manchester United Fans’ Forum. “I applied when I was 14, and then in my first meeting Joel Glazer was there,” he tells The i Paper.

“[Former CEO] Richard Arnold was there too. I left that first meeting feeling great hope about how the club treated its fans. Things started to go downhill since Ineos came in.

“They’ve got worse and worse with the installation of digital ticketing, up to the awful way they went about this latest season ticket issue. They say they trust the Fans’ Advisory Board (FAB) and Fans’ Forum, but they are no longer willing to engage with us all. The trust between club and fans has gone.

“These Fans’ Advisory Board meetings are supposed to give us a greater voice, but we aren’t even told who all the people on the board are, they have to sign non-disclosure agreements, and the meetings are not minuted.”

There are some at United who believe the club has a much better system for engaging with supporters than others. In the aftermath of the European Super League debacle, each Premier League club set up a Fans’ Advisory Board to give supporters direct access to senior figures.

Some used that as an opportunity to put existing fan forums out to pasture. United still keep an active FAB and Fans’ Forum. United chief executive, Omar Berrada, co-chairs FAB meetings.

FAB meetings are more streamlined, less of a “shouting match”, with non-disclosure agreements in place so proper discussions can happen without fear of leaks. While meetings are not minuted, there are forum representatives present to relay information.

The war on touts

That has made United’s war on alleged touts all the more disappointing to fans. Just like with the £66 ticket price rises in mid-season in 2024, neither the FAB or Fans’ Forum were consulted before the club announced the crackdown.

Supporters were stunned to receive emails out of the blue asking them to prove they had not done anything wrong.

“We really let our feelings be known in the last Fans’ Forum meeting,” one member told The i Paper. “The tone was so aggressive, assuming guilt before seeing proof, with some deeply affected by the accusations.

“It was so easily avoidable if they had consulted us. I am always telling the club, ‘allow us to help you, let us walk you through it’. Then they run ahead and do it anyway. They never seem to learn… That is why we are where we are, and another protest is ahead of us.”

Last week a message was shared on social media by a supporter who had signed up for a cup scheme and not purchased a ticket when they needed to. The club texted them saying: “You don’t have a ticket for the Sabah game on Thursday, please do not come to Old Trafford.” A link to buy tickets followed, along with the threat of further sanctions.

Ratcliffe’s cuts

Many supporters are growing tired of never-ending protests. Last season’s demonstrations before February’s Fulham clash drew much smaller numbers than anticipated. Those involved this time hope that targeting a protest at one specific thing will encourage numbers to swell once more.

“It is just the tip of the iceberg, really,” one of the organisers, who wished to remain anonymous, tells The i Paper. “After Ratcliffe made all the job cuts, raised ticket prices, moved long-standing supporters from their seats to make way for more corporate seats, this is the final straw.

“Most got them got any bans overturned, but I know some still can’t get in. It’s a joke.”

The Independent Football Ombudsman is reviewing many bans. United, coincidentally, released figures from their completed touting crackdown on Friday. It has resulted in 685 account holders being banned from Old Trafford. There were 468 cases resolved satisfactorily, while 226 supporters have been given a final warning.

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United weren’t the only club to target ticket touts this summer, with officials insisting they needed to address such a stain on the game. Real supporters, by and large, agree.

Yet others insist it is part of a wider attempt to force season-ticket holders out in favour of attracting tourists, who spend much more money on matchday than regulars.

United remain adamant that any banned season-ticket holder will be replaced by another season ticket holder, and no financial gain is to be had from all of this. There will nevertheless be plenty of critics on the picket line on Sunday.

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On the Saturday night after Newcastle’s hard-fought draw with Bournemouth, Matthias Jaissle and his coaching staff decided to head out to a city centre Italian restaurant for dinner.

The group were “mobbed” by well-wishers and selfie-hunters and Jaissle and his team were taken aback by the affection coming their way.

He had done his research on Newcastle as a club and place before accepting the task of succeeding Eddie Howe in the summer, but the reverence with which he’s been treated since taking over has “touched” Jaissle, who feels a duty to repay it by delivering a team the supporters can be proud of.

One thing that was imprinted on the minds of Jaissle and his coaching staff after a long match day was the banner that was unfurled in the Gallowgate End by the Wor Flags tifo group that read: “Matty Jaissle’s Black and White Army”. After just a few weeks as manager, it was way more than he expected.

An emotional character

Jaissle may not appear it in press conferences, where he tends to deliver fairly succinct, direct answers, but he is an emotional character as well as an “absolute workaholic”. His ability to “connect” with the players – at 38, he is only a few years older than the senior members of the dressing room – is one thing that has been noted by Newcastle insiders.

He is a believer in regular and honest communication with the squad and Jaissle has been impressed at the character of the dressing room he has inherited. There’s been a willingness to embrace new ideas and he is convinced that with more time on the training ground – which will come as Premier League rivals embark on draining European campaigns into the autumn and winter – this Newcastle team will go from strength to strength.

But there is an acknowledgement that they are far from the finished article, with plenty of room for improvement. Team meetings have focused on chance creation and “dominating” in the final third this week, both areas Jaissle feels they are underperforming in.

If the size of the job is considerable, he has the energy to match it and it is a measure of the man that on Saturday night, after the coaching staff returned to the upmarket hotel that is serving as Jaissle’s base while he house hunts in the North East, he popped open his laptop and started to analyse the 2-2 draw that maintained Newcastle’s impressive unbeaten record.

It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Jaissle, whose working days begin at 7.30am and extend into the early evenings.

In touch with Shearer and Howe

Forays into the city have been rare – that will change during the upcoming international break – although he did enjoy a “relaxed” meal on Tynemouth beach midweek after the stress of a “full-on” transfer window.

He’s also taken time to pick the brains of Newcastle’s all-time record goalscorer Alan Shearer, a conversation that he found particularly enlightening.

Ultimately his life has been made easier by a winning start, with five points from three tough opening Premier League fixtures an impressive return for a new-look team getting to grips with a tweaked style.

Is it sustainable? That has been the narrative on Tyneside this week and Opta’s “expected points” table has Newcastle sitting in 19th, below Coventry City and Fulham. Results are out-performing the underlying metrics.

Jaissle spoke of seeing the “bigger picture” when quizzed about that on Thursday. “We have played some strong teams,” he pointed out, reasonably. And the internal feeling is that when Will Osula returns after the international break – and “crucial” new signing Matias Fernandez-Pardo beds in – they will have the speed to capitalise on the quick breaks and “diagonal” football that are going to be central to Jaissle’s plan.

His promise to staff

There should be encouragement about the way his in-game changes are improving Newcastle. That was identified in the club’s managerial due diligence as a strength of the German’s and so it is proving. Character references they took have also proved prescient.

Because there have been some really nice touches on the quiet. He wrote a letter to all of the club staff before the opening game of the season noting how many of them were Newcastle fans and promising to deliver a team that represented them.

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In midweek he sought out Fabian Schar to emphasise how important he is to him. With his three “captains” – Dan Burn, Joelinton and Malick Thiaw – missing Yoane Wissa was made skipper against Millwall to reflect his hard work behind the scenes.

Jaissle has also talked with Howe, thanking him for what he has inherited at Newcastle. While he believes there is a bright future for the club, Jaissle was mightily impressed in his first few days by the physical condition of the players. It has allowed players like Wissa and Anthony Elanga to hit the ground running in a new way of playing.

Leeds on Monday represents another stiff test for a developing Newcastle side but Jaissle has seen plenty of reasons for confidence. “The unbeaten start is not normal after such a small time together – but we want to continue this journey,” he said.

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New Meadow was the future, once. When Shrewsbury Town moved here in 2007, it marked a monumental achievement for owner and chairman Roland Wycherley, after whom a stand was ceremonially named. Having steered the club away from financial emergency and overseen a return to the Football League, Wycherley had his club in a shiny new stadium that fit their ambition.

The Croud Meadow – renamed for sponsorship reasons – is still serviceable and some improvement work was completed this summer to mark Shrewsbury Town’s 140-year anniversary. But on the whole it reflects the club that calls it home: tired, rusting in places, browbeaten. Supporters have repeatedly complained about bird faeces on the seats and in concourses. It’s certainly different to moaning about needing a new striker, but hardly better.

Shrewsbury Town have been in pain for too long. In February they won three consecutive away games and supporters wondered if they had been transported to an alternative dimension. They had watched their team win four away league games in the 23 months before that.

That late winter bounce kept Shrewsbury out of non-league football and avoided a double dip relegation from League One. Wycherley had described Football League relegation in 2003 as the worst feeling of his life. Once would be careless. A repeat two decades later was perceived negligence.

So there hasn’t been huge cause for cheer. Shrewsbury Town have lost at least 20 league games in each of their last five seasons. It is now more than eight years since they took points at a rate of over 1.3 per game over the course of a campaign. Then they finished third in League One. That now feels like half a lifetime ago.

There has been no real calamity here – does that make it worse or better? Nobody stripped the assets or quickly forced the club to the cliff edge of financial disaster. Instead a local owner simply found himself unable to fund in the same manner. And while that happened, a fanbase slowly fell out of love and ran out of hope.

It is the miserable starts to their seasons that have destroyed faith most. Whatever the caveats, early August always generates a stirring. In 2024-25, Shrewsbury won one of their first 11 league games. Last season, one of 10. They have lost four of their first five league games and now sit second bottom of the Football League.

When supporters repeatedly feel let down, they eventually stop coming and you can give up attracting new ones. Home attendances have been falling for some time. This season they average under 5,000 for the first time in almost 20 years.

We’ve said it about other clubs too, but every empty seat that was full is a mini-crisis. In provincial towns without vast fanbases, the only way to futureproof your own existence is to inspire people to stick with you as a live experience. That is impossible when the team never wins often enough and the club never seems to move forward.

One of the greatest causes for forlornness was Shrewsbury’s Waiting For Godot takeover, first touted by Wycherley four years ago and drawn out for at least half of the interim. The owner regularly stressed that he wanted to sell and that 20 different potential buyouts had not progressed because he wanted the best for the club. It should also be said in his firm defence: there is no significant external debt.

It has therefore been an odd few days as Shrewsbury’s existence played out on double speed. On Saturday, a number of fan groups released a joint open letter stating their intention to campaign jointly for a takeover to be completed and serious questions answered by the owner. By Monday, the club confirmed that the Independent Football Regulator had approved a new takeover by a US consortium.

There is still reason for caution, of course. The takeover hasn’t actually completed yet; fan groups will not dare believe it until the new name is above the door. Nor is this necessarily the silver bullet. Any buyer is signing up to lose money, supporters want them to understand football, have deep pockets and generous dispositions and be patient but ambitious. From that list, something usually has to give.

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But what choice is there but to believe? Nobody wants to spend their Saturday afternoons griping about how broken the team is and the time in between fretting about how broken the club is. They have waited so long for this and the crowds will come back if everything is rebuilt better.

If not, everybody knows what happens next or eventually. Shrewsbury Town have been one of the worst-performing football clubs in the Football League for over a year and the safety net has gone. The only natural next step without significant improvement, investment or both is non-league football for the first time in 22 years.

So this is a chance. This is probably the chance. The united fan messaging has to stay after the fragmentation that becomes an inevitability when a club struggles and everybody argues about why. A new owner will be met with a surge of goodwill until there is reason to doubt it. Few clubs in England need one more.

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Manchester United’s midfield has been shorn of one facet or another for a long time.

Roy Keane’s grit and leadership have never really been replaced. Nor has David Beckham or Paul Scholes’ quarterback passes.

Another skillset that has been conspicuous by its absence for nearly a decade is a technician in the middle of the park. Not since current boss Michael Carrick hung up his boots have United possessed one.

Until this season. It has been a conservative start to life in Manchester for Youri Tielemans, but in one piece of awe-inspiring, metronomic midfield mastery – one straight out of the Carrick playbook – the Belgian orchestrator-in-chief gave United supporters a glimpse into exactly what he has been brought to the club for.

United have possessed midfielders capable of similar intricacy to come up with the type of assist that effectively sealed their comfortable Champions League victory over minnows Sabah. Bruno Fernandes produces such passes with his eyes closed. Juan Mata’s fleet of foot could carve open many a defence.

None, however, have been able to do so by driving from deep, arriving late into the penalty area, before then slicing open a helpless backline like a hot knife through butter.

After a 1003-day wait for a return to Europe’s top table, the spectacle wasn’t quite what United bigwigs had in mind for their triumphant continental homecoming – a clash with an Azerbaijani side formed in 2017 – but all feels normal again in the world with this English footballing institution playing Champions League football again.

A simple, hassle-free evening was just what United supporters, uninspired by their domestic start to the season, needed ahead of a mouthwatering Manchester derby at the weekend.

Sabah, coached by one of the game’s most remarkable managerial journeymen, came to play and did not simply sit back, making United’s task all the more navigable as the match opened up.

Having settled into the contest, Patrick Dorgu squared for Matheus Cunha to open his account for the season, before Tielemans took centre stage, his stunning reverse pass setting up Fernandes for a first-half second.

Benjamin Sesko raced clear to make it three before the break, giving United a perfect opportunity to ease up, with two fewer days of recuperation before Sunday’s derby than Manchester City.

Lisandro Martinez made it four with a close-range finish in a procession-like second half, with Tielemans replaced at the interval. That tells you all you need to know about his burgeoning importance to the team already.

When we sat down with the former Aston Villa midfielder at United’s training camp in Dublin this summer, his honesty about his own fitness was perhaps somewhat alarming. Tielemans admitted last season became too much for him, in terms of volume of games.

Like many teenage wunderkids before him, the 29-year-old’s schedule has been unrelenting since he first donned the Anderlecht shirt. The Belgian captained them at 18 and has since amassed 671 games for club and country before turning 30.

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That’s more than his predecessor, Casemiro, mustered in his entire career. It is also 33 fewer than Lionel Messi hit before reaching a third decade, 52 fewer than Cristiano Ronaldo in that time. Tielemans doesn’t turn 30 until next May.

Therefore, Carrick is right to manage his game time effectively. There is no shame in coming off at half time, with the job done, having produced moments of magic like his first-half assist that would have made his manager blush on the touchline.

Now for more of the same, on a regular basis. It’s long overdue.

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Tottenham are yet to receive any formal bids for Richarlison as the final transfer windows around the world draw to a close.

Spurs’ attacking woes continued on Saturday at Nottingham Forest, where they failed to register a shot on target. They have not scored in any of their opening three league matches for the first time since 1974.

Richarlison is no longer part of the Premier League squad after telling the club he wanted to leave over the summer. Roberto De Zerbi hinted it was “not my decision” to leave him out and Spurs now have an expensive exile on their hands.

Richarlison latest

Trabzonspor, the ambitious Turkish Super Lig outfit who signed Mohamed Salah this summer, came closest to signing the 29-year-old. However, The i Paper was told the move collapsed due to “high financial demands”. That included his wages, though the transfer fee was considered the “main obstacle”.

A return to Everton fell through at the end of the English window. It was a separate deal to Iliman Ndiaye and had no bearing on the forward’s decision to move to Manchester City over north London.

Richarlison has also attracted interest from Saudi Arabia but that window has now closed. Al-Ahli were among the clubs monitoring the situation.

There are now very limited options remaining when it comes to high-profile leagues, with the following windows still open: Brazil, Mexico, Portugal, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Russia, Poland, Azerbaijan, Slovakia, Greece, Israel and Serbia.

Despite scoring some of the goals that effectively kept Spurs up at Anfield and Villa Park last season, Richarlison declined to sign a new contract.

Three departures

He was not the only player who expressed a wish to move on and Spurs have sold well this summer, raising more than £140m. A key part of that strategy was moving on youngsters without a clear route to the first team.

That saw Dane Scarlett, who has been on loan four times in four years, join Leyton Orient on a permanent deal. Will Lankshear is now the top scorer in the Championship after scoring eight times in nine appearances at Middlesbrough. Jamie Donley, who played as a centre-forward at youth level but has since developed into an attacking midfielder, has been sent on another loan to Luton Town.

Marmoush role

Around £145m was spent bolstering the attack with the additions of Savio and Omar Marmoush from Manchester City (a number which includes sizable add-ons of a combined £20m for the pair), and with Mykhailo Mudryk joining on loan with an option to buy. Savio started on the right against Nottingham Forest, with Marmoush as the No 9.

At City, the Egyptian’s opportunities were limited by the presence of Erling Haaland, while in Frankfurt he played either as a lone striker, alongside Hugo Ekitike in a two-man attack, or could also be deployed as a No 10 or out wide. Even as a front man, he was inclined to drop into a deeper role.

Spurs have been hit by further injuries there. Xavi Simons is still recovering from a torn ACL and James Maddison suffered a shoulder injury in the defeat to Brentford, so Conor Gallagher has been deployed further forward. Sandro Tonali has been the only ever-present in the midfield so far and has had a torrid start after his record £100m transfer from Newcastle.

Fitness and injuries

Dominic Solanke has featured in all four games in all competitions, but his minutes will continue to be managed. Last season, he completed 90 minutes just eight times and was ruled out of 31 games, largely due to an ankle injury that required surgery.

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De Zerbi is also still navigating injuries to Dejan Kulusevski, who has been out for 16 months, Mohammed Kudus, who has been edging back to full fitness, and Wilson Odobert. After the goalless draw with Forest, De Zerbi said Mathys Tel “takes too many wrong decisions”

Spurs were at their brightest against Newcastle and showed glimpses of creativity at the City Ground, yet they sit 17th in the table with no goals and no wins.

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