Tottenham Hotspur manager Nuno Espirito Santo says his side "have to improve" following a 3-0 drubbing at home to Manchester United on Saturday.
Spurs failed to muster a single shot on target as goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and substitute Marcus Rashford inflicted a fifth loss in 10 Premier League games under the Portuguese.
A chorus of boos and chants against Nuno greeted his decision to withdraw Lucas Moura just seven minutes after the restart. The Brazilian had been Spurs' most lively attacker, with Harry Kane and Son Heung-min again off song.
Supporters then turned their ire to Daniel Levy, calling for the chairman to step down after years of underachievement following successive top-four finishes under previous coach Mauricio Pochettino from 2016 to 2019.
“We have to improve all of us,” Nuno said. “It’s not about individually. As a team we have to do much better. It’s not only about our offensive game. We are vulnerable in defence. We concede. We keep the ball, yes, we make 10 shots, none of them on goal.
“We have to be more accurate. The final pass. It’s always not the right line. It’s behind, it’s front. So we have to improve. We have to improve.”
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer arrived at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium under even more pressure than his Tottenham counterpart but was offered a reprieve thanks to a combination of United's potency and an insipid home side.
After collecting one point from four games, Solskjaer's changed tactics and personnel worked — deploying a three-man defence including the fit-again Raphael Varane and pairing Cavani up front with Ronaldo.
It was the strike force with a combined age of 70 and more than 1,000 goals between them that did the most damage with two moments of quality.
Ronaldo, 36, has been criticised in some quarters as upsetting the balance in United's otherwise energetic and youthful squad but gave a timely reminder of his quality with a superb volley on 39 minutes following a cross from Bruno Fernandes.
The Portuguese then turned provider for Cavani, sliding in his strike partner for the Uruguayan to dink a delightful finish over the advancing Lloris.
Ronaldo was replaced on 70 minutes by England international Rashford who sealed victory with a curling strike on 86 minutes to move United up to fifth in the table.
Tottenham v Man United ratings
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TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris 5 - A strong hand pushed a travelling effort from Fred out for a corner, but that was the only positive in a game where the France international could do little about any of the goals. AFP -
Emerson Royal 7 - Looked to get forward to support the attack which saw the right-hand side of Spurs enjoy some success. The Brazilian was a standout performer in what was a poor team display. Getty -
Cristian Romero 6 - Romero had the ball in the net and looked certain to score before Davies took the header on himself, directing it from the corner way over the bar. Reuters -
Eric Dier 5 - The left side of Spurs’ defence was too messy, and that was picked up on by Cristiano Ronaldo who looked to exploit the lack of organisation. Marking Cavani and Ronaldo is never an easy task, but Dier didn’t do enough. AFP -
Ben Davies 5 - Lost track of Ronaldo for United’s opening goal. Disappointing overall from the left-back who didn’t show why he should start ahead of Sergio Reguilon. AFP -
Oliver Skipp 5 - Couldn’t get near the ball and struggled to impose himself. Gave away the ball in a dangerous area which led to United doubling their lead. Reuters -
Pierre Hojbjerg 5 - The Denmark international is usually much more influential and a regular ball winner in the Spurs side but we didn’t see that. Reuters -
Lucas Moura 7 - An intricate ball from a broken down free-kick presented Son with the best chance of the first half. It was a bright performance from Moura who stood out as one of the players who was desperate to win - this made his substitution questionable. Getty -
Giovani Lo Celso 5 - The Spurs attacking midfielder wasted a great chance as he got the pass all wrong when Son Heung-min had a channel destined for the United box. Not the most creative display. Getty -
Son Heung-min 6 - Son’s runs consistently upset the United defensive line, but the Spurs star had to do much better with the chance where he was played through by Lucas Moura. Getty -
Harry Kane 5 - Lead the Tottenham press from the front but was kept quiet overall by United’s back three, drifting in and out of the game. Best opportunity came when he intercepted a back pass on the flank, but the final ball was easy to deal with. Getty -
SUBS: Steven Bergwijn (Lucas 54) 6 - On for Lucas and looked to beat his man but Spurs struggled to get him on the ball once the score went to 2-0. Reuters -
Tanguy Ndombele (Skipp 66) 6 - Introduced for Skipp after going two goals down but a tough ask for the French star. Bright on the ball and fought to try and get Spurs back into the match. Getty -
Dele Alli (Lo Celso 72) N/R - Brought on for Lo Celso but was anonymous in a poor team performance. Reuters -
MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea 6 - Had little to do in the first half. And the second. His goal was well protected by his five-man defence. Not a privilege he’s had this season. He deserved a break. Spoke well after the game. Getty -
Aaron Wan-Bissaka 8 - Bright start in a defensive back five against a side who’d collectively scored fewer goals than Mo Salah so far this season. Got into advanced positions but unsure with his final balls. Sublime tackle on Son after 34. Reuters -
Raphael Varane 8 - Back after injury and his presence improved the defence. Fast enough, strong enough and untroubled by a Spurs attack he helped look limp. Needs to get into the groove now, play every game and show why he’s one of the best defenders in the world. AP -
Harry Maguire 7 Booked – for a tackle made by Varane after 22 minutes. Key nudge to win ball and end a Spurs attack on 51. Kept the other Harry, Kane, quiet. AP -
Victor Lindelof 7 - Right of Varane, but sometimes came more forward out of defence because he’s so competent on the ball. Another one who needed a good game and had one. Worked on the formation for a few days and felt very happy with it. Reuters -
Luke Shaw 7 - Lot of responsibility on him and hit a lovely ball over the top to Fernandes after 23. Much better than in recent weeks and energy levels remained high. Got forward, got back. Unrecognisable from last week. AP -
Fred 8 - Best effort of the first half with a shot from distance after 32. Played well, though susceptible to running into trouble with the ball. Tenacious. Yellow card on 72 after a double tackle. He deserved that, but he still moaned about it. AP -
Scott McTominay 9 - Aggressive and effective – and more confident with a extra player behind him. Drove forward with Fred effectively. Tackled heavily by Spurs’ players. He can handle it. Excellent. AFP -
Bruno Fernandes 8 - Key position as the link between the midfield, Ronaldo and Cavani. Super run from deep to meet a Shaw pass after 23. Hooked a cross wide on 33, but then set Ronaldo up for the first with a fine ball. Defended, attacked. Best game for a while. AFP -
Cristiano Ronaldo 8 - On it from the start. Magnificent finish from a Bruno ball to put United ahead. Struck another rocket into the goal on 47 but it was offside. Played a key part in the second goal. Motivated his team midweek and delivered at the weekend. Getty -
Edinson Cavani 8 - Headed wide after seven minutes. Worked hard as always, intelligent touches. Scored here last year and scored again this year with the coolest finish. Cult hero. But gave the ball away just before he was substituted. Left the field with his name being sung. AFP -
SUBS: Marcus Rashford 7 - Came on for Ronaldo after 70. Jumped onto a Matic pass after 86 to finish United’s third with confidence. A fit and productive Rashford is a big addition to United. AP -
Nemanja Matic 7 - On for Fernandes after 75. Bring balance and stability. Did just that and played a pass forward for fellow sub Rashford to score the third. AP -
Jesse Lingard N/R - On for Cavani after 83. Little time to make an impact. EPA
It was just the tonic following last week's 5-0 capitulation at home to Liverpool, and Solskjaer said the win allowed the whole club to put a difficult week behind them.
“It’s been a difficult week for the players, for the club, for the fans, for me," Solskjaer said. “I’ve stayed away from most of the noise, but you know what’s happening out there. You know that you have to put a performance ... but for us, we needed this week.
“We needed a whole week to work on this, this performance and it’s probably the first, or the last time for a while we have a long week to work, so it was an important one, just to work on fitness, mentality and of course we changed the tactic.”
Saturday's lacklustre display was the first time in seven years that Spurs failed to have an attempt on target in a Premier League home match.
Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris said his team needed to show more pride after a third 3-0 defeat of the season.
"We expect more. We expect more belief. More pride," Lloris said. "This is not the first time [we have played this poorly], even at home. We expected more against Chelsea," the Frenchman told Sky Sports.
"We need to reanalyse and find some good. It's not a good moment at all. We concede too much, we don't score enough, we don't create enough.
"We've only played 10 games in the league, but there's too much up and down. In one game we go through so many emotions. We seem to always go down. Confidence is key also."
