Manchester United were made to rue their missed chances in the first half as Pape Matar Sarr scored his first goal for his new club after firing home a half-volley shortly after the restart to put Spurs 1-0 up in the 49th minute.
United produced a laboured performance, with a lack of energy and hints of fatigue evident throughout the squad.
Lisandro Martinez was unfortunate to direct a Ben Davies shot into his own net as Spurs found themselves 2-0 up in the 83rd minute.
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Story of the match
Ange Postecoglou made two changes to his side following a 2-2 draw with Brentford last time out. Pedro Porro and Pape Sarr replaced Emerson Royal and Oliver Skipp respectively. Christian Romero kept his place at the heart of the Spurs defence despite being withdrawn as a precautionary measure following a head injury after opening the scoring against Brentford.
Erik ten Hag named an unchanged side following a narrow victory at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers. Harry Maguire was not named in the United squad - adding further speculation over the England international's future at the club.
Antony had the first chance of the game in the 2nd minute after good work from Mason Mount forced an error from Porro, but the Brazilian fired his shot over the bar.
United continued to create chances with Marcus Rashford forcing a good save from Guglielmo Vicario in the 12th minute. Dejan Kulusevski created the first chance of the game for Spurs in the 24th minute after good work to hit United on the counterattack.
United were denied a penalty by VAR after Romero seemingly blocked an effort from Alejandro Garnacho with his arm. Aaron Wan-Bissaka was shown the first booking of the game in the 33rd minute after preventing Spurs from taking a free-kick quickly.
This new type of caution is part of a new set of regulations introduced for the 2023/24 Premier League season.
Bruno Fernandes wasted a golden opportunity to open the scoring after he fired a header wide of the target despite being completely unmarked in the area.
Antony and Fernandes both picked up bookings in the 38th minute after a foul and descent respectively. Spurs hit the crossbar and post in the space of a minute as Porro and Sarr came close to opening the scoring for Spurs.
Papp Sarr put Spurs 1-0 up in the 49th minute after firing home a half-volley inside the penalty area after good work from Kulusevski down the right wing.
Andre Onana was forced into a strong save to deny Destiny Udogie in the 51st minute as Spurs pushed for a second goal.
Vicario pulled off another great save to deny a powerful header from Casemiro in the 56th minute as United searched for an equaliser.
Luke Shaw produced a goal-saving block to deny Son Heung-min after great work from Yves Bissouma and Udogie inside the United box in the 61st minute. Udogie picked up a yellow card for descent in the 63rd minute.
In an effort to counter a period of dominance from Spurs, ten Hag made a triple substitution as Jadon Sancho, Christian Eriksen and Diogo Dalot replaced Garnacho, Wan-Bissaka and Antony in the 66th minute.
Spurs responded with a double substitution three minutes later as Ben Davies and Ivan Perišić replaced Udogie and Richarlison.
Sarr left the pitch to a warm reception from the Tottenham Hotspur faithful as he was replaced by Pierre-Emile Højbjerg in the 75th minute.
A dangerous cross into the area from Perisic was met by Davies, whose effort was deflected off Lisandro Martinez to put Spurs 2-0 up in the 83rd minute. Mount and Rashford were replaced by Facundo Pellistri and Anthony Martial shortly afterwards.
United had another penalty appeal waved away by VAR after Pellistri went down in the box after being put under pressure from Ben Davies. Kulusevski and Porro were replaced by Manor Solomon and Emerson Royal in the 88th minute.
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Player of the match – Pape Matar Sarr
The Senegalese international produced a dominant display in the middle of the park alongside Yves Bissouma to break up any chance United had of finding a rhythm throughout the game. His ability to effectively time late runs into the box paid off with a well taken goal. Spurs fans will be hoping this performance will be a sign of things to come as the Ange Postecoglou era yields its first victory of the new season.
