‘Wow’: Ange Postecoglou blows world away with Spurs victory

Ange Postecoglou is the talk of the football world after a display that has extended the Australian’s most bonkers record.

LONDON, ENGLAND - AUGUST 19: Ange Postecoglou, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur, celebrates following the team's victory during the Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on August 19, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images)

“Ange-ball has arrived.”

That is the consensus from across the football world after Tottenham’s convincing 2-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday morning.

Ange Postecoglou’s bold philosophy played out perfectly as the Australian manager extended his freakish run of being unbeaten in his last 49 home league games as a manager across spells with Yokohama F. Marinos, Celtic and now Spurs (with 41 wins and eight draws).

Tottenham earned their first Premier League win of their new Postecoglou era as Pape Sarr inspired an impressive victory.

Postecoglou’s first home game as Tottenham manager served as the perfect introduction for the former A-League club manager, whose side played with the kind of flair sorely lacking from the north Londoners in recent years.

Senegal midfielder Sarr opened the scoring early in the second half with his first goal for Tottenham since signing from Metz in 2021.

Lisandro Martinez’s late own goal capped a dynamic Tottenham display that sealed Postecoglou’s first victory in his second game in charge.

James Maddison of Tottenham Hotspur embraces the team's manager, Ange Postecoglou. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images.

There was one comment from Sky Sports commentator Gary Neville that summed it up.

“There will be some thrills here this season under Postecoglou,” he said.

Sky Sports’ Peter Smith also said: “That pass from Maddison. Wow! What came next was scrappy. But the Spurs fans don’t care!

“Angeball has arrived!”

After a draw at Brentford last weekend, Postecoglou will hope this eye-catching result against sloppy United can kick-start his reign.

“It was good. Man Utd probably had the better of the chances at the start, but I like the fact we hung in there and worked our way into the game,” Postecoglou said.

“Second half, certainly in spells, it kind of showed the team we want to be. I keep saying we’re still a long way to go, but I really liked the belief and resilience the guys have. They were brave.” Following Antonio Conte, Nuno Espirito Santo and Jose Mourinho’s drab spells in charge, this was more like the ‘glory game’ that Spurs fans regard as their birthright.

But while Postecoglou earned plaudits for his success and attacking football in two seasons with Scottish champions Celtic, achieving similar feats with star-crossed Tottenham will be far harder.

Postecoglou has already had to deal with Harry Kane’s departure to German champions Bayern Munich, while also trying to erase the bitter taste of last season’s turbulent campaign.

After years of underachievement even with Kane in the team, Postecoglou’s first game in north London offered hope of life after the England striker.

In Ange they trust. Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images.

“We’ve still got a long way to go and today we saw elements of how far we still have to go,” Postecoglou told Sky Sports afterwards, refusing to get carried away.

“If we can keep feeding the players the belief they have in the second half then we can create something special.”

In contrast to the sudden optimism around Tottenham, it has been a worrying start to the season for United manager Erik ten Hag.

United were unchanged from Monday’s scrappy 1-0 win over Wolves, although it was notable that Harry Maguire was absent from the squad following his decision to reject a move to West Ham this week.

Fortunate to beat Wolves in their opener, United weren’t so lucky this time as they paid the price for poor first-half finishing and a strangely lethargic second-half performance.

Sky Sports’ Roy Keane said: “Man Utd are the new Spurs. Desperate. Absolutely desperate.

“The biggest insult I always think about is teams who can’t do it away from home, players who aren’t up for it away from home.

“They’re a good team, they fancy it when their home fans are in front of them, they’ve got that support and energy. United go away today.

“Second half, weak, no leadership, gave bad goals away. Spurs were lovely. All credit to them. It’s easy to play against Man United also.”

— with AFP