Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says he will speak with Cristiano Ronaldo on Thursday after the Portuguese stormed down the tunnel before the end of the team's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.
Ronaldo was named among the substitutes as United dominated their opponents and cruised to victory thanks to second-half goals from as goals from Fred and Bruno Fernandes.
After Ten Hag had made it clear he would not be coming on, Ronaldo made a quick exit, which could land him in hot water.
“I don’t pay attention to that, I will deal with that tomorrow,” the Dutchman told Amazon Prime Video.
“I want to keep the focus on the team, it was a magnificent performance from all the 11 players.
“It was a performance also from the subs that came on. It was a squad performance. We deal with that tomorrow.
“What we have seen today was 11 players who defend, 11 players who attack, there was a lot of dynamic.
“I am pleased with that. I will not say I am satisfied because good is not good enough, that has to be the standard at Manchester United.”
United turned in their best performance of the season to overpower a poor Tottenham side and would have won by a far bigger margin had Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris not put in an inspired display.
In the end, Fred’s deflected effort 76 seconds after the restart and Fernandes’ sweet finish was enough for the three points, which follows home wins over Liverpool and Arsenal.
Man United v Spurs ratings
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MANCHESTER UNITED RATINGS: David de Gea 7 - By far the quieter goalkeeper in the first half when Spurs didn’t have a shot on target and United had 19. Alert and obviously happy with a clean sheet, but the action was at the other end. EPA -
Luke Shaw 9 - Volleyed a Dalot cross towards goal after 24 in a fantastic spell. Tight into Son to stop him getting space. More touches of the ball – 110 – than any other. On it and playing well. EPA -
Raphael Varane 9 - Kane and Son, they said. Two of the best attackers in football. Varane looked utterly composed all night as he pushed high on to Son, bested Perisic and played areas rather than players and his partnership with Martinez is already a confident one. Clean sheet in the best Manchester United performance for years. Class. Getty -
Lisandro Martinez 8 - Confident and pushed right up as United took it to Spurs. Straight on to Kane when he threatened. Touched a Kane shot which went wide on 49. And again to stop a dangerous Moura ball with ten minutes to play. AFP -
Diogo Dalot 8 - Pushed a ball away from Perisic to stop an early Spurs attack. At the other end, he crossed for Shaw to volley in United’s best first half of the season. Kane smashed the ball into him on 45 and he went down. So assured when he trapped a Kane cross. Reuters -
Casemiro 8 - Super strike which went wide after 28. One misplaced pass led to a rare Spurs attack on 45. Booked after 51 for a challenge. Read Son’s movement superbly. His celebration for Fernandes showed what it meant to him. Peerless positioning. PA -
Fred 9 - Smart ball forward to Antony on six minutes and then had a shot tipped over 30 seconds later. Even better pass to Rashford on 20. Heavily fouled soon after as Spurs realised he was their biggest threat. His deflected shot put United ahead after 46. And what a celebration. Beautiful ball to Rashford on 58. Involved in the second. Six shots on target. Yes, you read that right. EPA -
Bruno Fernandes 9 - His accurate 22nd minute free-kick was well saved by Lloris. Shot over after 26 minutes and integral to much of United’s attacking play. Got the second, and how he’s needed a goal. Put the ball in the net again but it was flagged offside. Nine key passes. No Spurs player had more than two. AFP -
Antony 8 - Audacious attempt on goal after six minutes and he curled a shot which hit the post four minutes later. A danger on the right and continued to be so in the second period. Applauded off. AFP -
Jadon Sancho 8 - Not as involved as the other forwards until he teed Fernandes up after 25, but he was effective out of possession. Five key passes. Struggled to beat a man but playing in that team with that performance must lift his confidence. AP -
Marcus Rashford 8 - Shot saved by after Lloris after 20 – an excellent chance. A further shot was deflected towards Lloris three minutes later. Lively start to second half, a shot saved by Lloris on 47 and then another attack soon after. Looks sharp, fast and confident. Seven shots, three on target. A goal would be nice. Getty -
Scott McTominay 7 - On for Antony after 75 with United at 2-0 and needed to see the game out. Reuters -
Anthony Elanga N/A - On for Sancho after 86. Serenaded in song by the fans. Getty -
Christian Eriksen N/A - On for Elanga after 86. The fear was that he’d be missed, but his teammates did fine without him. EPA -
TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris 8 – After a shaky start, making a mess of Antony’s shot within the first six minutes, the goalkeeper made several impressive stops to keep Rashford off the scoresheet. A busy evening for the Frenchman, who had little chance with the two goals. AFP -
Cristian Romero 4 – Not a convincing defensive performance. Clattered into Fred to concede a free kick in a dangerous position, but Lloris matched Fernandes’ effort from the set-piece in the first half. EPA -
Eric Dier 6 – Made some important interventions, including a painful block with his face, but at fault for losing possession before Fred’s goal. Getty -
Ben Davies 5 – An attempted block deflected Fred’s strike into his own net, leaving Lloris stranded as his side conceded just after the break. AFP -
Matt Doherty 6 – An average display as the right-back was pinned into his own half after the break. EPA -
Rodrigo Bentancur 5 – After sending an early effort wide, the midfielder was sloppy in possession and was replaced by Skipp in the closing minutes. EPA -
Yves Bissouma 4 – A rusty performance in his return to the side, with the midfielder losing track of Fernandes in the build-up to the second goal. AP -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg 5 – Looked overrun in the midfield and the Dane was often wasteful on the ball. AFP -
Ivan Perisic 6 – Ventured forward on the left but often lacked the final ball. A heavy touch inside the box squandered a good opportunity in the first half. Substituted in the final stages. AFP -
Harry Kane 7 – Showcased his range of passing with a pinpoint cross-field pass to Doherty in the first half. Had two shots saved by De Gea. Getty -
Son Heung-min 5 – A quiet night for the South Korean who could only fire high and wide from distance in his only sight of goal. Getty -
SUBS: Davinson Sanchez (Bissouma, 82) – N/A. AP -
Ryan Sessegnon (Dier, 82) – N/A. Getty -
Lucas Moura (Doherty, 82) – N/A. Reuters -
Oliver Skipp (Bentancur, 89) – N/A. Djed Spence (Perisic, 89) – N/A. Getty
Ten Hag added: “I am pleased with the team, I think it was the best team performance so far this season, so you see a team developing, you already see the last weeks the way we want to play.
“We get every day better on the pitch. Not every game will be like today but Spurs is a magnificent team and it was really enjoyable to watch.”
Spurs remain third in the Premier League table, but boss Antonio Conte is not fooled.
This defeat comes hot on the heels of a dismal display in the north London derby earlier this month and scraping a draw at Chelsea in April.
And the Italian said the club need to analyse why they struggle in the big games.
“For sure not a good game for us but I have to be honest and first of all, especially with my players, this was not the first time for us, despite the table being good but every time we played a high level game we struggle,” he said.
“We struggled against Chelsea because we drew after 92 minutes but Chelsea dominated the game and with Arsenal we lost and today against United we lost.
“For sure when the level is high, we are going to struggle. This means we have to continue to work to try to improve, to work on the pitch and to work outside the pitch.
“We can improve, we need to continue to work and for sure it is right with the club also to analyse very well why when we are going to play this type of game where the level is very high we are struggling.”
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Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes celebrates after scoring the second goal in the 2-0 Premier League win against Tottenham at Old Trafford on October 19, 2022. AFP -
Bruno Fernandes scores United's second goal. AFP -
Manchester United's Fred celebrates scoring the first. Getty -
Fred celebrates after scoring. Getty -
Fred celebrates with Antony after scoring. Getty -
Fred opens the scoring at Old Trafford. AFP -
Tottenham coach Antonio Conte on the touchline. AP -
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag shouts instructions. Getty -
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes in action with Tottenham's Cristian Romero. Reuters -
Tottenham defender Ben Davies fights for the ball with Manchester United's Marcus Rashford. AFP -
Cristiano Ronaldo during the warm up. AFP -
Bruno Fernandes celebrates after scoring. AP
