Manchester United 2-1 Tottenham: 3 players who flopped for the Red Devils

Manchester United have won each of their preseason games so far with their latest victory being a narrow 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men were not dominant in the game against Spurs and recorded just 43 percent possession. Yet, they got the job done and ensured their spotless record stayed intact.

Through the game, United were much more dangerous than Spurs and the Red Devils even forced Paulo Gazzaniga into a string of saves. Anthony Martial was a constant threat and he bagged himself a goal in the 21st minute, in addition to hitting the woodwork early in the game.

Spurs started to press United high up the pitch after the goal and managed to equalize through Lucas Moura in the 65th minute. Fortunately, United starlet Angel Gomes managed to score the winning goal 15 minutes later. Despite their victory, the Red Devils have several areas to address.

Here, we will take a look at 3 United players who failed to impress despite the win:

#3 Mason Greenwood

The 17-year-old sensation has caught the eye of football fanatics since his impressive pre-season display against Leeds United. He netted a goal against Marcelo Bielsa's side before adding to his tally against Inter Milan a few days later. Unfortunately though, the United youngster failed to hit similar heights against Tottenham.

Greenwood was anonymous for large parts of the game and was heavily isolated. He failed to score despite being presented with some decent chances. The 17-year-old will need to step up his game if he wants to establish himself as a Premier League regular.

Nevertheless, he might have a chance to become the backup striker to Marcus Rashford if Manchester United decide to sell Romelu Lukaku. Solskjaer can probably play Greenwood in the FA Cup and the League Cup to develop the youngster's game.

While Greenwood has the talent to take the English game by storm in 2019-20, one reckons that he might not look back too fondly at the pre-season fixture against Spurs.

#2 Nemanja Matic

Nemanja Matic joined United a couple of years ago and was impressive in his debut season, racking up 35 appearances as a starter. Unfortunately for him, his career has not gone smoothly since then.

Critics bombarded the 30-year-old due to his considerable dip in form. His sluggishness on the ball often led to him slowing down the Red Devils' play and he also accumulated a few yellow cards on the way. And his decline was even more evident in the match against Tottenham.

The former Chelsea midfielder was too slow to react and gave the ball away at times. He struggled to maintain possession and was at fault for Lucas Moura's goal. The 30-year-old was also unable to act as the shield in front of the United defence.

The Red Devils have plenty of young stars such as Scott McTominay and Andreas Pereira who have previously shown the ability to replace Matic. Thus, United might just start pondering for life without the Serbian midfielder in the upcoming season.

#1 Luke Shaw

Luke Shaw was one of Manchester United's best players in 2018-19 and amassed 29 Premier League appearances. However, he endured a rare bad game against Spurs after coming on as a second half substitute for Ashley Young.

The former Southampton man was barely able to get forward and he did not manage a single shot on goal. He was decent at the back but was at fault for Lucas' goal. He appeared to deflect Moura's shot, which eventually resulted in the goal.

Fellow left-back, Young, on the other hand, was able to impress and tested Gazzaniga several times. A bad pre-season game would not damage Shaw's United career, but the 24-year-old defender will surely need to step up in the next match.

Young started ahead of Shaw a couple of times last season. Thus, the latter might lose his place to the veteran if his decline continues into the formative stages of the upcoming season.

Edited by Shashwat Kumar