'Lads, it's (still) Tottenham' - Conte's revolution has another rocky moment at Old Trafford

Ferguson's old mantra about Spurs was supposed to be a thing of past. But a 2-0 loss that could have been much more was a low moment for Italian manager

ROUGH NIGHT: Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte on the touchline during the Premier League match at Old Trafford, Manchester. Pic: Nick Potts/PA Wire.

IT IS ALMOST a year since Antonio Conte arrived at Tottenham, and yet few really know what sort of Spurs are going to turn up at any given moment.

Conte has instilled steel, for sure, and turned Tottenham around last season from a rudderless side halfway down the table, into team with focus and hunger that ultimately reclaimed Champions League football after a fine finish to the season.

From the start of 2022, Tottenham were playing with purpose, scoring freely and conceding few goals – most of the time.

They won at Manchester City, were undefeated by Liverpool and beat their closest rivals Arsenal when it mattered to claim that coveted fourth place. But there were blips, losing to Burnley and Brighton, failing to beat a tired-looking Brentford, and taking their top four challenge down to the wire.

This season they have failed to catch fire despite a summer of spending that was most unLevy-like. The chairman previously known for his parsimony acted early in the transfer window and freed the pursestrings to give the combustable Conte a team capable of challenging for the silverware that has eluded them for a decade and a half, and has given rival fans plenty to gloat about.

The arrivals of proven winners, such as Ivan Perisic and Clement Lenglet, plus the exciting promise of proven Premiership players such as Richarlison and Yves Bissouma, should have been the spur for Tottenham to really go for it.

Yet despite a good start to the season, keeping pace with Arsenal and Manchester City in the top three, the nagging feeling is that Spurs have not yet hit top gear. Maybe Conte has not fully released the handbrake to what is clearly a potent attacking force, fearful of repeating the slips that almost cost them last season.

Their opening day thrashing of Southampton looked to be a good omen of open, attack-minded football, playing on the front foot and taking the game to opponents. But then Spurs would go out in the next game with a defensive mindset and just do enough to get over the line. Last Saturday's win over Everton was a case in point. A team that Tottenham had blitzed 5-0 last March were given a little too much respect, and could have been 2-0 ahead by the team Harry Kane scored a penalty. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg's late goal merely settled supporters' nerves rather than emphasised the gulf in class between the two sides.

So what to expect last night? Again Conte went on the defensive, setting his side up to soak up pressure and attack on the break. And although United won the corresponding fixture 3-2 last season, Spurs were the dominant side throughout and were only felled by an outstanding hat-trick from an outstanding player, Cristiano Ronaldo. The season before, Spurs had humiliated United 6-1 at Old Trafford, so there should have been little to fear when Erik Ten Hag announced his line-up with Ronaldo, predictably, not part of the starting eleven.

Yet Tottenham were on the back foot from the start, much as they did in their only previous league defeat of the season, at Arsenal last month.

Hugo Lloris had to make a string of saves to keep United at bay throughout the first-half, which was largely one-way traffic. Their total of 19 shots on target in that opening 45 minutes was not only a record by a Premier League team this season, but also the best by a United team since Sir Alex Ferguson was manager.

And the way Tottenham invited them on, overplaying at the back and failing to cut out passes in midfield only encouraged the Reds to pour forward, with their best attacking display of the season. If it was not Lloris stopping them, it was the woodwork or the face of Eric Dier, who was poleaxed on the stroke of half-time. Dier has been Tottenham's strongest presence in defence since Conte took over, a man mountain at times, but the way he was laid out looking discombobulated by Diogo Dalot's shot summed up the Londoners' plight.

In previous games Conte has worked his magic at half-time and transformed his team's mindset, but not this time. The second-half was only two minutes old when Fred broke the deadlock with a cruel blow for Lloris as the ball went in off a wicked Ben Davies deflection.

Tottenham have an admirable record for coming from behind under Conte, but that was never going to happen against a United side who had their tails up and had their supporters roaring them on in fevered atmosphere at Old Trafford, one that is rarely seen these days.

Bruno Fernandes made it 2-0 with 20 minutes to go, and although the scoreline remained the same until the final whistle, it was no reflection on United's dominance.

By the end Spurs were well beaten, and it brought to mind the old mantra of Sir Alex Ferguson, when his teams used to trounce the Lillywhites on a regular basis. “Lads, it's Tottenham,” was the only team talk needed, and last night it looked like a return to the past – the good old days for United, the bad old days for Spurs.