Collapse against Tottenham shows Manchester United and Jose Mourinho surely cannot go on much longer

Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino wore all black on the Old Trafford touchline; black shoes, black suit, black shirt, black tie. He looked as though he was on his way to a funeral. Or perhaps the Argentinian smelt something in the air. Maybe he could sense the overwhelming victory that was about to come from his Tottenham players and that for Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho the time is almost up. This surely cannot go on much longer.

All it took were two devastating second-half minutes and Spurs were two ahead, tearing apart United’s left-hand-side each time in an incisive manner. In a frantic game in which United had the best of the first-half chances, Spurs struck in the 50th minute, Kieran Trippier feeding Christian Eriksen down the right, a low ball across, Dele Alli struck it well but Chris Smalling blocked. From the corner, Trippier’s delivery was met with a fine header by Harry Kane.

And so it was again: pass, cross, shoot, repeat. Trippier, Eriksen, low ball across and this time Lucas Moura had made a late run and guided it under the dive of David De Gea. Paris Saint-Germain were forced to release a statement denying they had made a £100m bid for Eriksen on Monday; at this rate they might want to issue a quick retraction.

Even worse for United, Tottenham’s third, with six minutes remaining, came right through the middle. Moura skipped past Smalling and buried the ball past De Gea.

No response

Probably the most concerning aspect of all this for Mourinho is that he demanded a response from his players, got one, and still they were still thrashed, marking the first time since 1992 that United have lost two of their first three Premier League games. They won the title that season under Sir Alex Ferguson, winning the last seven games straight. So history could be the only thing that saves Mourinho.

He made mass changes, but is running out of others to blame. If there is a way to troll footballers in real life, then Mourinho’s team selection was it. Six changes to the side who started in that disastrous away defeat to Brighton.

Four of those were not even deemed worthy of a place on the bench. Anthony Martial, Juan Mata, Eric Bailly and Andreas Pereira were the quartet ruthlessly savaged by their manager.

Defensive shambles

Central defence has been the most contentious position for United this season, starting in pre-season when Mourinho demanded a new centre-back, continuing into it when Ed Woodward refused to deliver. Bailly and Victor Lindelof, both signed by Mourinho in successive summers, were the pairing who looked out their depth against Brighton. They went. Smalling and Phil Jones came in and were joined by midfielder Ander Herrera in a back three.

That a midfielder was chosen in a back three while Bailly was omitted was an extra slap in the face of the Ivorian as he lay prone on the floor.

There were some surprises in the team selection of Pochettino, too. World Cup winning goalkeeper Hugo Lloris kept his place and the captaincy despite being charged with drink driving last week.

Left-back Danny Rose also started, making his first appearance all season, something that some thought might not happen after he was critical of the club in the summer for the way they handled his long-term injury, which eventually led to the defender being diagnosed with depression.

Confused, misfiring, petrified

Sixteen minutes in and the two were involved in almost handing United the lead. Rose played an awfully short back pass intended for his goalkeeper and Romelu Lukaku was on to it. Lloris shot from his line but the United striker rounded him, only to send the ball wide of the far left post with the goal open. Had it gone in, Rose would’ve been more embarrassed than his goalkeeper at 2.20am last Friday as he blew into that breathalyser near Baker Street, in London.

United were slow and deliberating against Brighton and were then punished for defensive mistakes. The players did their best to arrest that in the first half, carving out their first chance after 13 seconds — Fred shot wide — and having 10 shots before the break.

At two down and United in a defensive shambles, Lindelof was handed the chance to recover his reputation, coming on for the injured Jones, who lost Kane for the first goal. Soon after, he played a back pass to rival Rose’s, straight to Alli, who took the ball too wide around De Gea allowing the Spanish goalkeeper to eventually save.

That one terrible moment summed up United’s current predicament fairly succinctly: they are confused, misfiring, petrified, all over the place. By the final whistle, it appeared Pochettino had picked the perfect attire for the occasion.