🔬 The Debrief as Spurs thump Man Utd and Ipswich grab a point from Villa

There was just the two Premier League games on Sunday, but there was far more talking points from the action.

Let’s take a look at what went on.

What happened?

Tottenham cruised to a dominant 3-0 win at Old Trafford, heaping even more pressure on Erik ten Hag, and easing any that was on Ange Postecoglou.

Spurs were rampant from the start, scoring inside three minutes as Micky van de Ven ran through United’s midfield and defence before crossing for Brennan Johnson to tap home.

They should have had more goals by half-time, but the game ended as a contest when Bruno Fernandes was questionably sent off for a slip and semi-high tackle on James Maddison.

Spurs got their second even quicker into the second half than the first through Dejan Kulusevski, before Dominic Solanke continued his goal streak late on.

Earlier in the day, Ipswich and Aston Villa played out a thrilling 2-2 draw at Portman Road. Liam Delap gave the Tractor Boys the lead inside eight minutes, but they were behind at half time as Villa responded strongly with goals from Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins.

The second half saw Unai Emery’s side calm the game in the most part. That was until the 72nd minute when Delap ran half the pitch, skinned Diego Carlos and expertly finished past Emi Martínez.

Both sides had chances to win it late but a draw felt a fair result.

Player of the day

With respect to multiple Spurs players, notably van de Ven and Kulusevski, it was hard to pick one of them due to Fernandes’ first-half dismissal, and the performance of Liam Delap for Ipswich.

Eyebrows were raised in the summer when the Tractor Boys parted with near-£20m to secure his services from Manchester City, with just two Premier League substitute appearances to his name, and only eight Championship goals for Hull last season.

They may have all lowered today, with the 21-year-old making a statement against Unai Emery’s Champions League side, giving Pau Torres and Diego Carlos all sorts of trouble with his all-round play and deadly finishing.

His goals showed two sides of his game; the first was a poacher’s finish, while the second was a half-pitch run before a composed and clinical finish inside the box. He could have had more too, but for a Martinez save that was similar to his 2022 World Cup final stop from Randal Kolo Muani.

He has now netted all three of Ipswich’s goals at Portman Road in the league this season, and is the first Ipswich player to score in back-to-back Premier League home games since Finidi George in March 2002, as well as the first to score a brace in a top-flight game since Marcus Bent a month later.

Of course, that was the last season the Tractor Boys were in the top flight, and they are still waiting for their first win upon their return.

Kieran McKenna may have found himself a striker to spearhead a survival bid.

Stat of the day

Time up for ten Hag?

What this means

The most obvious place to start is Old Trafford, where Erik ten Hag must surely be hanging onto his job by his fingertips after another terrible day for his side. It is now back-to-back 3-0 home league losses for the club.

As for Ange Postecoglou and his Spurs side, the big win could fully kickstart their season. Since their derby day defeat to Arsenal, it’s four consecutive wins across all competitons, while Dominic Solanke and Brennan Johnson are suddenly bang in form.

Ipswich’s 2-2 draw with Villa means they have yet to win a league game, but it is now four straight games unbeaten as McKenna and his men look to be fully getting to grips with life among the big boys.

Unai Emery will be disappointed his side didn’t build on their 2-1 lead and secure a victory that would have drawn them level with Liverpool at the top of the table. Villa fans won’t have much time to ponder the result though, with a mammoth Champions League tie with Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

What they said

Despite another dark day, Erik ten Hag was adamant his position was safe.

“I’m not thinking about being sacked, not at all. We all made the decision to stay together”.

“Ownership, staff, players, myself. We made the decision from a clear review of what we have to do, we knew it would take some time. We are on the same page together”.

Bruno Fernandes‘ red card was a major flashpoint, and the United captain was not impressed with the decision.

“It was never a red card, that is my view”. “I agree that it is a foul… yellow card? I can accept, but it is never a foul worth a red card”.

Ange Postecoglou was unsurprisingly delighted with his side’s win, and made a point to his critics.

“Today it was an outstanding performance. We controlled the game well. Just an outstanding effort from all the lads.”

“I love what I do and I love managing this team!”

After Aston Villa’s 2-2 draw with Ipswich, Unai Emery took a big picture view.

“We achieved 13 points (from the first seven games) and I think it’s really good, but we are demanding and we want to continue building a team to get our performances even better than we are.”

What comes next?

Monday sees a clash on the south coast as Bournemouth host a winless Southampton side at the Vitality Stadium.