Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Manchester United: 5 Key Talking Points

#3 Jose Mourinho's tactics go awry

All was not well

For the first twenty minutes - barring that "ridiculous" goal - United actually played some very decent football. Having started with four out-and-out attack-minded players, and the equally forward minded Paul Pogba behind them, they could have pulled one, or even two, back if they'd taken some of the half-chances that kept getting created.

But after that initial burst of positivity, it was plainly evident that Mourinho had to change things up - and he'll have to shoulder the blame for not doing so. Anthony Martial, such an effective player for United this season, looked lost on the right flank, Paul Pogba looked shackled - and angry - in that defensive midfield role he hates while Nemanja Matic looked like he could have given up an arm and a leg to have Ander Herrera next to him.

While Mourinho addressed one issue by shifting Martial to the left, Jesse Lingard onto the right and Alexis Sanchez into the middle of the three-man line behind Romeu Lukaku, he left the midfield woefully exposed - and while Marouane Fellaini's injury killed off any chances of United getting back into the game via the enterprise of Marcus Rashford (who'd been set to come on for the disappointing Martial) the question is why was he brought on in the first place?

For all that, though, can we really put the full brunt of blame on the manager when 5-yard passes were being misplaced and hopeful long punts were being made because the players couldn't handle the high press? Why this set of such uniquely-gifted players crumble as a collective as soon as the stakes are raised is a mystery.

P.S. The Paul Pogba substitution seemed more like the manager making a point to his whole team - listen to what I say, or you'll pay - than anything else:

Pogba doesn’t want to listen to Mourinho’s instructions? Ok, off you come son. #mufc pic.twitter.com/a0hDLLCOEz

— Man Utd Universe (@ManUtdUniverse) January 31, 2018