English Premier League 2023-24: Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou defeat Manchester United 2-0 in first home game

It was Tottenham’s first home game without Harry Kane, but as ALYSON RUDD writes, the mourning of Spurs fans was soon overtaken by an Ange Postecoglou-driven pandemonium.

Ange Postecoglou speaks to Pape Matar Sarr in Tottenham’s 2-0 win over Manchester United. Picture: Adrian DENNIS / AFP

Maybe this will be the season of pandemonium. The scoreline may sound sensible but this was relentlessly free-flowing and eccentric fare as Manchester United tried to be as attacking as Tottenham Hotspur clearly will be all campaign.

Under Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte, Spurs had shrivelled into a ball of pragmatism in the futile search for silverware. Under Ange Postecoglou they are expressive, bold, fun and carefree. Erik ten Hag simply ran out of ways to handle it, the way a kindergarten teacher might despair of a class determined to have a water fight.

The huge stadium still glistens, and it was sun-drenched at kick-off but there was the sense of a void that no amount of loud music – and it is loud here – could fill. This was Tottenham’s first home game without Harry Kane and although Postecoglou asked, again, for the supporters to start looking to the future and not dwell on the sale of their prolific forward, it is easier said than done.

Fans’ shoulders slumped a tad as they walked along Tottenham High Road even though their manager had promised adventurous football. It would have to be incredibly attractive and productive for memories of Kane to fade fast. Still, Postecoglou waved to the supporters before kick-off who appeared very keen indeed to witness something that could take their minds off the England striker. Indeed, such was the heightened emotion that Son Heung-min fluffed an early volley, miscuing his effort as if the sheer raucousness had distracted him.

England captain and former Spurs' striker Harry Kane loomed large as Tottenham fans adjusted to life post-Kane. Picture: Adrian DENNIS / AFP

It served to liberate United and Alejandro Garnacho ran at Spurs, including a few stepovers along the way, to unleash a strike that was held by Guglielmo Vicario who then had to save at the feet of Marcus Rashford as the Spurs back line struggled to maintain composure. It really did feel, though, as if matters such as composure are less important than fearlessness to Postecoglou.

The value to United of Andre Onana was illustrated midway through the first half when their new goalkeeper gathered the ball close to the centre circle and swept a long and accurate cross field ball out to Garnacho that left the home team exposed. This is the type of quick, expansive thinking Ten Hag wants from his players.

Soon, though, Spurs were sprinting forward and Dejan Kulusevski might have done better with his low shot after the pace and effort shown by Son. Onana then saved from Pape Matar Sarr after a scintillating move had been set in motion by James Maddison, who skipped neatly out of his own crowded penalty area. Bruno Fernandes timed his run exquisitely only to find himself in so much space he must have felt like a gymnast who suffers from the “twisties” and forgets what is up and what is down and where the goal is. He could hardly believe how poor his header was.

Perdro Porro hit the crossbar with a thunderous strike and from the loose ball Sarr’s effort also struck the woodwork courtesy of a deflection. Postecoglou simply, literally, scratched his head. His team could have been ahead or behind at the interval and he would not have had cause to be surprised by either state of affairs.

There was no let-up. The second half began even more frenetically than the first had ended and the breakthrough came early in the second half as a visibly impatient Porro prodded the ball firmly into the path of Kulusevski, whose cross deflected off Lisandro Martinez into the path of the advancing Sarr, who in ungainly fashion deceived Onana.

Pape Matar Sarr scores the opening goal for Tottenham. Picture: Adrian DENNIS / AFP

It truly seemed as if the Spurs fans could not have coped with another miss and their shredded nerves welcomed the goal with something close to hysteria. If the stadium can generate this level of cacophony for every encounter, then just maybe magical things will happen in a post-Kane landscape. It was creatively chaotic, certainly more paradoxical than most elite football matches. It felt at times as if both managers were more worried by the prospect of a draw than a defeat. There was recklessness galore but also vision, pace and the occasional fine tackle under pressure.

Antony hit the woodwork as United responded in kind and then Cristian Romero was bundled over by Martinez in the Spurs penalty area but no spot kick was forthcoming. A mesmeric jinking run across the penalty area from Son was spoiled by a last-ditch block from Luke Shaw. In Tottenham’s 2-2 draw away to Brentford last weekend, the Postecoglou chaos had veered towards ugliness, but the surroundings of the grand stadium suited his style much better and his players responded with gusto to the encouragement for every forward pass and brave run.

United had experienced the perfect practice session in their opening home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers when the visiting team had been surprisingly fearless, but Spurs took it all to a new level with the sheer intensity of their attacking intent. On came Christian Eriksen against his old team to provide some calm intelligence as Ten Hag accepted he could not quite match Tottenham’s freestyle fun.

Ivan Persic and Ben Davies came off the bench to combine to force a Martinez own goal after the Spurs defender had fluffed his connection from Perisic’s pass. It was the sort of goal conceded when an opponent is dizzy and this Spurs side know how to make you feel motion sick.

-The Times

Originally published as English Premier League 2023-24: Tottenham under Ange Postecoglou defeat Manchester United 2-0 in first home game