Tottenham 0-3 Manchester United: 'Nuno not cut slack in sour Spurs atmosphere'
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Match of the Day: How 'awful' Spurs were 'perfect' for Man Utd after Liverpool thrashing
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have known just how Nuno Espirito Santo felt as Tottenham's manager stared out blankly at thousands of vacated seats towards the end of a humiliating home defeat.
It was only six days ago that Manchester United manager Solskjaer was suffering similar emotions as Liverpool inflicted a 5-0 humiliation at Old Trafford.
After a week in which every aspect of Solskjaer's work and record was pored over with forensic zeal, he survived to inflict pain on Nuno and Spurs with a 3-0 victory that lifts the clouds gathering over the Norwegian, at least temporarily.
There was, however, one significant difference between last weekend and this. And after a Spurs display that was dreadful and deadly dull, that key difference signalled an ominous warning for Nuno.
Manchester United's fans, no matter how they were feeling as their team went down without a fight against Liverpool, did not turn publicly on their manager. Yes, many left before the end, but the dissent aimed at Solskjaer personally was hardly mutinous.
Nuno was cut no such slack in a hostile, sour atmosphere at Spurs.
He does not enjoy Solskjaer's status as a club playing legend and the fact he was way down Spurs chairman Daniel Levy's list of potential successors after Jose Mourinho's sacking in April means he is fighting an uphill struggle for credibility.
It is not Nuno's fault that it was almost a case of last man standing when he was finally appointed after a botched managerial search. But it meant there was no shield of sympathy when the simmering mood of mutiny at Spurs boiled over here.
Spurs need fans' support after 'bad performance' - Nuno
The environment was, at best, subdued as United held a 1-0 lead courtesy of Cristiano Ronaldo's superb volley. It turned to hot fury when Nuno replaced the popular Lucas Moura with Steven Bergwijn after 54 minutes.
It was the tipping point.
Boos swept around this vast arena, not aimed at Bergwijn but at a manager who has singularly failed to win the hearts and minds of Spurs fans - and whose cause is not helped by a counter-punching style of football completely at odds with the bold statements made as the club sought their new manager.
Spurs did not muster a shot on target here and barely looked likely to.
In fact, they have not had a shot on target in their past two hours and 16 minutes of football, since Harry Kane's effort in the 44th minute against West Ham. This was the first time Spurs have failed to have a shot on target in a Premier League home game since December 2013 against Liverpool.
And that does not misrepresent just how lacking in ideas Spurs were.
United turned the screw and the environment worsened, Kane getting it in the neck after another listless performance was capped by a run and tame cross straight at a Manchester United defender.
It did not sound here as if Kane was "one of their own" - the cry from Spurs fans in his pomp. He looked and played like a man struggling for inspiration after a summer move to Manchester City did not materialise, although it should be stressed the paucity of service did him no favours.
Nuno's only respite came in the last four minutes when Spurs fans turned their ire on Levy after Marcus Rashford made it 3-0, a goal which resulted in a swift emptying of thousands of seats and demands for the chairman to leave the club.
It is Nuno who is under pressure but this is not all down to him. Not by any stretch. The criticism of Levy is merited.
Spurs have lost their way since they reached the Champions League final against Liverpool in 2019. They may have lost 2-0 in Madrid but they felt on the up under Mauricio Pochettino,
Instead, the much-loved Pochettino did not get the backing he wanted, grew dissatisfied and was sacked six months later. Jose Mourinho was an expensive, quick-fix vanity appointment that failed, so Spurs find themselves where they are now.
Spurs are currently a middling club with not the slightest chance of mounting a title challenge. We are only 10 games into the league season but there are no positive signs of progress.
As for Solskjaer, what a contrast this was to last Sunday as he walked over to take the acclaim from United's followers after a highly efficient display, decorated by the stardust applied by Ronaldo, who not only scored but created a superb second for Edinson Cavani.
This does not mean Solskjaer's troubles are over but his delight was understandable. This was a game he could not afford to lose.
Ronaldo came to his manager's aid with world-class quality and United's move to a three-man defence, with Raphael Varane back alongside captain Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof, easily repelled Spurs' attacking efforts, such as they were.
Solskjaer had gone to the cliff edge with the defeat by Liverpool but pulled back from the brink in style here. Now he must continue the good work away to Atalanta in the Champions League, then against Manchester City in the derby at Old Trafford.
He was in desperate straits and needed to pull out a big result when nothing else would do.
It is a good knack for any manager to have - Nuno must hope he can discover a similar habit in very troubled times.
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