Ange Postecoglou and Erik ten Hag faced each other for the third time in the Premier League with both facing scrutiny in recent weeks, albeit not necessarily in equal measure.
With the previous two encounters having reaped four points for the visitors, the sides from England's two largest cities began proceedings level on points and having enjoyed (or endured) inconsistent starts to the season.
What unfolded on a wet afternoon in the North West made clear that the similarities between the sides went no further, with Spurs putting on another dominant display and getting the rewards that had eluded them in away fixtures against Leicester and Newcastle.
The Old Trafford hosts, however, can consider themselves lucky to have only lost by a three goal margin, with profligacy from the team in white saving them from a score more suited to the cricket ground of the same name.
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Ange has his midfield
The puzzle Postecoglou has faced for much of his time as Spurs manager, not helped by last season's injury list, has been that of his best midfield combination.
It may seem a strange problem when there have been so many strong options, but getting the balance right between control, creativity and discipline has been elusive.
That the solution appears to have come by moving Dejan Kulusevski, out on the wings for most of his career in white and blue, into a central role, which is not so strange when you look at his strengths.
What has caught most people out is that he is being paired with James Maddison, rather than replacing Spurs' number 10. To further stretch already raised eyebrows, the anchor making it all tick has been Rodrigo Bentancur, more known for his style than steel, despite the availability of the athletic Pape Matar Sarr or the press resistant Yves Bissouma.
After Spurs lost in limp style in the North London Derby with this midfield, Postecoglou could have understandably replaced any of the trio with Bissouma or Sarr, who alongside Maddison were mainstays last season.
Instead, the ambitious Australian persevered and has now been rewarded with dominant victories in the two following league matches including this.
It is early days, and it may be too devil-may-care against Manchester City or Liverpool, but the signs are that this combination should control and create against the majority of opponents.
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Manchester United lack identity
What kind of side is Manchester United? How do ten Hag's ideas materialise when his players enter the pitch?
A look at the Sunday's team sheet shows all the ingredients you'd want from a side with lofty ambitions: skill, creativity and imagination in attack; pace and trickery on the flanks; a seasoned, athletic spine tested at the highest level. All assembled at a princely sum.
When you look deeper, you see that this collection of individuals has not been coached into any kind of team. The ex-Ajax manager is now in his third season, twelve months ahead of his North London counterpart, but the gap between the velvet harmonies Spurs showcased and his side's out of tune tribute band to past great Manchester United sides was evident.
When some players pressed, others stood static. When the right hand side made runs, the left hand side found dead ends. Defensive line? What defensive line?
Manchester United did lose Bruno Fernandes to a harsh red card before half time, but in truth the match should have already been out of sight.
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Confidence is everything
Just two weeks ago Brennan Johnson had to delete his Instagram account after being targeted for vile abuse by the most mindless of Tottenham's supporter base. His crime? Starting the season poorly, culminating in a performance in the North London Derby where his lack of self belief rendered him completely ineffective.
Ange Postecoglou thankfully does not make a habit of pandering to the crowd, and made clear that if any one of the cowards involved had been brave enough to voice their opinions in person, the reward would have been a punch on the nose.
Postecoglou's reward for not only protecting his young winger, but empowering him to answer his critics with his feet, has been four goals in four games and increasingly eye catching performances terrorising his opposing full backs.
What else has visibly increased? Jonson's enjoyment of each goal. He barely acknowledge his goal to win the league cup tie late on against Coventry, but his early winner at Old Trafford saw him elated before Micky Van de Ven's exquisite assist had even reached him.
On scoring, he burst straight across the penalty area to congratulate his team mate for a quite astounding charge up the pitch. Internally, he will have been beaming with pride at his own impressive form, much as his father visibly was in the crowd.
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Discrimination continues to plague the stands
It is disappointing that there is anything to write about beyond a sublime Spurs win, but sadly a portion of the away crowd let themselves and their club down. The Tottenham Hotspur supporters travelled across the country to watch their side put on a memorable performance at a ground that has historically been very unforgiving to the Londoners.
That a select group of the Spurs fans shoehorned homophobic language into a chant meant to adorn new striker Dominic Solanke is quite frankly shameful.
The Spurs crowd, themselves often the subject of a different type of discrimination, could be audibly heard on Sky Sports broadcast of the match, which suggests this was more than a few imbeciles. In their choice of words, they threaten to ostracise the LGBTQ+ contingent within the clubs fan base.
These chants teach younger fans watching that it's ok to be bigoted as long as it's just "banter" and part of the pantomime of emotion contained within ninety minutes of football. There are a myriad other dangerous messages in an inexhaustible list.
A lot of good work has been done to make football more inclusive, but this shows that there is a lot more needed. Thankfully, Spurs were very quick to admonish the behaviour with an official statement. We should all look forward to when this is no longer necessary.
