Manchester United 1 Tottenham 0: 5 things we learned

José Mourinho needed to see a response from his Manchester United team after they suffered an embarrassing 2-1 loss against Huddersfield in the Premier League.

A late winner from Anthony Martial gave Manchester United the three points they so desperately needed. There should be no debate whether Mourinho’s men deserved the win or not, because they were comfortably the better team.

Here are five things that came out of Manchester United 1-0 Tottenham:

Two up front is the way forward

Through Pogba’s absence, Romelu Lukaku has been isolated up front in Mourinho’s preferred 4-2-3-1 formation. However, reverting to a three-back formation, the Portuguese boss opted for Marcus Rashford to pair with the Belgian international.

This allowed Henrikh Mkhitaryan to roam in his preferred number 10 role, just behind the two centre forwards. Lukaku looked far more involved due to having someone playing off him, which allowed Manchester United to push up the pitch and not be so hemmed in.

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When Pogba returns, Mourinho can change back to just having Lukaku up front, but for the mean time, Man United look far better as a unit with more support going forward. It would be nonsensical to change things.

While Lukaku and Rashford might not have the greatest understanding between each other, when Martial came on, it was the difference maker. The Frenchman read Lukaku’s forward header and got himself on the end of it for a one-on-one chance with Hugo Lloris, in which Martial buried it in the corner.

Lukaku has only been at the club for a few months, and so relationships with Martial and Rashford will continue to develop in time.

Eric Bailly back is great news for the Red Devils

Mourinho will be delighted to see his general lining up in the heart of Manchester United’s defence once again. The Ivorian centre back has been a huge miss for the Red Devils, and so it is pleasing and reassuring for fans to see Bailly back fit and healthy.

The former Villarreal hard man picked up where he left off as a sturdy, and reliable, rock for United, covering the ground well and keeping Tottenham’s players at bay. His vast array of passing has been a miss from United’s back line as well.

While Mourinho opted for a three-back formation, going forward, it is expected that Bailly will partner Phil Jones until Marcos Rojo finally returns from his long-term injury. Before the Ivorian’s injury, the relationship formed with the England centre back was blossoming well and proved to be as reliable as they come – only conceding four goals in all competitions.

Ander Herrera lacks Pogba magic

While the Spaniard was one of Mourinho’s most important players last season, he has found most of his playing time from the bench this season.

However, through Pogba’s injury, Herrera has had to step up to the plate and come into Manchester United’s midfield. He is expected to transition defence into attack and provide another creative influence from a deeper position to Mkhitaryan. Yet that has not been the case.

Herrera has carried out his defensive duties well, but he does not have that magic spark in attack that Pogba has. There is a clear imbalance in United’s midfield and attack, that lies in Herrera’s game.

Man United have to resolve this swiftly as they struggle to dominate games and create clear-cut chances in front of goal. Nemanja Matić is good enough to provide all the defensive duties needed for his defence, especially at Old Trafford, and so it is important for a midfield player to come in and drive forward at the opponents’ box.

Henrikh Mkhitaryan needs to be dropped

The former Borussia Dortmund attacking midfielder started this season for Manchester United incredibly well – assisting five times in three games in the Premier League.

However, since August 26, Mkhitaryan has only contributed one goal in the league, an incredibly disappointing contribution record in six games. His form has been erratic and his decision-making a complete farce. He has consistently lost the ball or misplaced a pass when in a very advantageous area of the pitch.

While there is no doubting Mkhitaryan is a class operator when in form, he is quite clearly not at the peak of his powers. Not even close.

Mourinho needs to drop the Armenian to the bench and let him recharge his batteries and clear his mind. Allow Juan Mata to take the reins in the number 10 role and express himself. The Spaniard is a superb playmaker, but is always shunted out-wide – a position that he does not have the pace for.

There will be a time, most probably in Europe, that Mkhitaryan will come alive, but for the mean time, he needs a timeout.

The over-reliance on Paul Pogba is unsustainable

Since Pogba got injured mid-September, Manchester United have endured a difficult period of creating chances. While results have not taken a complete nose dive, the overall performances have been woefully insipid.

Herrera replaced the former Juventus man, but is not anything in the same category as the Frenchman going forward. There is a considerable lack of quality in United’s midfield that is missing due to Pogba’s absence.

Manchester United simply cannot continue in all competitions relying on Pogba’s magic to allow the team to tick and create heaps of chances. Herrera, as proven, is not good enough for this specific role, and so it is important for the Red Devils to find an adequate midfielder in the transfer window.

While Ed Woodward, United’s executive vice-chairman, has spent a fortune in recent years, they are still lacking midfield options for when Pogba needs a rest or, at a time like this, is injured.

A player that would have been useful in this circumstance would have been Andreas Pereira, who, against Mourinho’s wishes, went out on-loan to Spanish side Valencia.