Report by dr talal osman
Manchester United made it four wins from four Premier League games since Michael Carrick’s return as head coach by overcoming 10-man Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 at Old Trafford. Spurs captain Cristian Romero was shown a straight red card for serious foul play in the 29th minute following a reckless challenge on Casemiro, and Man Utd took full advantage. Bryan Mbeumo slotted home from a wonderful set-piece routine in the 38th minute, after the home side had already gone close to scoring on several occasions. Amad and Matheus Cunha then had goals disallowed in the second half, but Man Utd finally doubled their lead nine minutes from time, when Bruno Fernandes popped up with an instinctive back-post finish. Man Utd stay fourth in the table, though the victory takes them within three points of second-placed Manchester City, who visit Liverpool on Sunday. Spurs remain down in 14th place. How the match unfolded The hosts started positively, with Casemiro's 30-yard piledriver testing Guglielmo Vicario and Cunha curling another audacious long-range effort past the top-right corner. Fernandes then scuffed a shot wide from Amad's cutback, and Spurs came under even more pressure after being reduced to 10 men, with Romero catching Casemiro's ankle with his upturned studs. Man Utd did not need long to make their numerical advantage count, as Fernandes played a corner down the byline to Kobbie Mainoo, whose lay-off towards the edge of the area was stroked in by the onrushing Mbeumo. Vicario tipped Casemiro's header over the crossbar to keep Spurs within one goal by half-time, and the offside flag came to their rescue when Amad tapped home in the 49th minute. Xavi Simons fired a warning shot wide for Spurs, though Man Utd remained in the ascendancy with long-range efforts from Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot working Vicario. Fernandes was then flagged offside in the build-up to Cunha tapping home, but any nerves among the home fans were calmed when the Man Utd captain latched onto Dalot's cross to divert the ball back across Vicario and in. Carrick still perfect as Man Utd maintain momentum Carrick said before Saturday's game that Man Utd cannot afford to make a "knee-jerk" decision about the identity of their next permanent head coach. But the longer the current winning run continues, the stronger the case becomes for their former midfielder to keep the job beyond the end of this season. Romero’s rash challenge may have given Man Utd a helping hand, but their intensity was already causing Spurs problems when the game was 11 versus 11. Mbeumo fired wide of Vicario's near post after 34 seconds, and Cunha was a fraction away from scoring one of the goals of the season. Spurs boss Frank was famed for his set-piece prowess while in charge of Brentford, but Man Utd gave him a taste of his own medicine with a routine that came straight off the training ground, with Mbeumo totally free as he tucked into the bottom-right corner. Having seen his team squander a 2-0 lead against Fulham last week before winning 3-2, Carrick would have been desperate for the security of a second goal, which came via Fernandes' improvised finish. Man Utd could even have had a third in stoppage time, had Benjamin Sesko taken a touch rather than heading tamely at Vicario. This win means Man Utd have already surpassed their total of 42 points from last season with 13 matches still to play, starting with a trip to West Ham United on Tuesday. Romero sees red again as Spurs' winless 2026 continues Spurs are now winless in seven Premier League matches since the turn of the year, and depending on other results, they could find themselves only six points clear of the relegation zone by the end of this weekend. The visitors enjoyed one bright spell in the first half, when Conor Gallagher failed to make proper contact from a good position and Djed Spence's threatening cross got caught under Dominic Solanke's feet. But ultimately, Frank will look back upon Romero's red card as the costly moment, and the Argentine will now serve a four-match ban after becoming the first player to receive multiple red cards in the Premier League this season. Frank had leapt to Romero's defence in his pre-match press conference, following a social media post in which the centre-back said Spurs' lack of available players for last week's 2-2 draw with Man City was "disgraceful". But there was no defending Romero's tackle on Casemiro, and though Spurs had a couple of forays forward after being reduced to 10 men – most notably when Simons' strike whistled past Senne Lammens' post – they were always major underdogs from that moment on. Things do not get much easier for Spurs, either, with Newcastle United and Arsenal visiting the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in their next two matches and the threat of a relegation battle – which was unthinkable at the start of the season – becoming more real.
