Manchester United were blown away 3-0 by Tottenham Hotspur in a six-minute spell in the second half to dent their hopes of a top-four finish.
Second half goals from Dele Alli, Toby Alderwierled and Erik Lamela condemned United to a very damaging defeat.
Reds began the game strong
The Reds started the game very well, pressing the home side high up the pitch and not letting them settle. They failed to create any decent chances from the good start they made, but the positive signs were there for Louis van Gaal's side from the beginning.
It was the home side though who came close to opening the scoring on two occasions within a minute. The first came from a David de Gea mistake when the keeper dropped a cross but Harry Kane's shot was well blocked by the United defence.
Lamela missed a massive chance to give Spurs the lead
The second chance was an even bigger chance for the home side as a brilliant cross from Christian Eriksen found its way to Lamela who was unmarked but somehow the winger put his header wide with the goal at his mercy.
The remaining minutes of the half seen both sides cancel each other well with a lot of passing but not much chances being created. United were the better team for the first 20 minutes of the first half before Spurs came back into it and should have been in front but Lamela missed a guilt-edged chance.
The home side came out the faster of the two teams in the second half and created the first chance of the half from an Eriksen shot. Eriksen let fly from 30 yards out but De Gea was down well to keep it out superbly. Kane and then Eric Dier then produced good saves from De Gea as the home side started to up the pressure on the Reds.
Martial almost produced magic to give the Reds the lead
The Reds, though, finally showed a glimpse of life in the second half thanks to Anthony Martial. The French striker picked the ball up on the wing and drove at the Spurs defence and took them all on before unleashing a strong strike which Hugo Lloris saved well.
Three goals in six minutes ended game
The home side, though, got the opening goal of the game in the 70th minute through Alli. Eriksen got through the United defence and played a lovely ball into the path of Alli who slotted the ball past De Gea brilliantly to give Spurs a massive lead in the context of the title race.
It didn't take long for the home side to double their lead as Alderwiereld rose highest in the box to nod it past the helpless De Gea. The third goal then arrived two minutes later as the United defence were all over the place. Lamela hit a lovely strike from just inside the box to make up for his big miss in the first half to make it three goals in six minutes.
Kane was so close to making it four soon after but De Gea made another fantastic save to stop it from getting embarrassing. Moussa Dembele also came close in injury time but De Gea stood strong one on one to keep it out.
United need to recover quickly for the game against West Ham on Wednesday
The game ended 3-0 to Spurs, on a day that could prove costly for the Reds. The game changed when youngster Timothy Fosu-Mensah went off injured as he was playing superbly. Van Gaal will be hoping his side put this loss behind them quickly as they play on Wednesday evening against West Ham United in the FA Cup.
