As Dominic Solanke slid in Tottenham's third goal, a wave of disillusionment swept through Old Trafford.
With Manchester United trailing 3-0 after a punishing 77 minutes, some fans had seen enough. They rose from their seats and braved the Manchester rain, leaving the stadium behind. In the distance, the Spurs supporters reveled in their triumph, taunting with a jubilant chant: “Is there a fire drill?”
There have been many occasions like this under Erik ten Hag when his team has looked bereft of ideas and confidence, turning a stadium known as the Theater of Dreams into a place of nightmares.
“First, we have to deal with this and show resilience. This is not good enough,” Ten Hag admitted afterward. “We have to accept this and get better.”
Tottenham's victory mirrored Liverpool's win by the same margin in United's previous Premier League home game at the start of the month.
Ten Hag said similar things back then, but problems persist.
Goals by Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski, and Dominic Solanke consigned United to a third loss in the league already this season. The record 20-time champion, which was reduced to 10 men after Bruno Fernandes' red card, is 12th in the standings after just one win in its last five league games.
United has also failed to win any of its last three matches in all competitions, and there were boos inside the stadium from some fans that remained at the final whistle.
Spurs supporters were even more brutal during the game, directing chants of "You're getting sacked in the morning” toward Ten Hag.
The United manager, who only held onto his job after winning the FA Cup last season and undergoing an end-of-year review, said such thoughts weren't on his mind – despite the troubled start to the campaign and a slew of changes made under new minority owner Jim Ratcliffe.
"No, I'm not thinking about this. We all made this decision together to stay united," he said, adding that all parties "knew it would take some time.”
As bad as this latest setback for Ten Hag was, it could have been worse, with goalkeeper André Onana denying Timo Werner twice in one-on-one situations. He also stopped Solanke from scoring his second when he was through on goal late on.
While Onana prevented a rout, this was another humbling day for United, which began with Johnson's opener in the third minute.
The forward was left with an open net to aim at after defender Micky van de Ven was allowed to run from his own half and cross from inside the box.
Johnson might have added another when he fired against the post as Spurs dominated from the start.
In response, Alejandro Garnacho volleyed against the post with a rare chance for United.
But any chance of a comeback was dealt a major blow after Fernandes was shown a straight red for a studs-up challenge on James Maddison shortly before the break.
Spurs didn't have to wait long to double their lead, with Kulusevski adding a second two minutes into the second half by flicking a shot past Onana from Johnson's cross before Solanke added a third.
"We were really good. Obviously, it is a great victory," Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou said. "That is everything we want to be.”
Aston Villa missed the chance to move level on points with Premier League leader Liverpool after a 2-2 draw at Ipswich earlier Sunday.
Liam Delap scored twice for newly promoted Ipswich to earn a point at Portman Road.
Villa had led 2-1 at halftime, but Delap's goal in the 72nd minute ensured the points were shared.
Villa remained in fifth place, and Ipswich is 15th after a fourth-straight draw in the league.
Delap fired Ipswich into a surprise lead in the eighth minute with a low effort at the near post. Morgan Rogers leveled the score seven minutes later as Villa capitalized on Ipswich's defense's failure to clear the danger from its own box and drilled past goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.
Ollie Watkins headed the visitors in front in the 32nd minute when he rose to meet Leon Bailey's cross from the right for his fourth goal in as many games.
But Villa's hopes of leapfrogging Manchester City, Arsenal, and Chelsea were dashed by Delap's second from inside the box.
