EPL Review: United fall in driving Manchester rain as Liverpool rise to the top

Manchester United already have a negative goal difference by matchday 6 as pressure mounts on Erik Ten Hag’s position

A flat Manchester United and Erik ten Hag have many questions to answer in the coming days as they put in a poor performance to lose 3-0 to Tottenham in the driving rain at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Ten Hag will try to put it down to the first-half dismissal of captain Bruno Fernandes, but United were poor and should have been down by at least two goals before the captain was dismissed for a speculative foul that could have been a yellow. Tottenham had an XG (expected goals) of 4.67, which means United should have lost by five goals; Andre Onana made seven saves.

The way Micky van de Ven scythed through the midfield and defence to square for Brennan Johnson to score the first goal in the third minute was disappointing. Dejan Kulusevski scored the second in the second minute of the first half and despite some late pressure, Dominic Solanke settled the matter in the 77th minute to condemn United to their third league loss in six.

In the earlier game, Ipswich Town showed all their qualities to hold Aston Villa to a 2-2 result. Liam Delap continued his run as the only Ipswich player to have scored at Portman Road with two classy goals. Unai Emery, with an eye on the next match against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, saw his side overturn a 1-0 deficit to lead 2-1 by halftime.

He made substitutions to keep his team fresh, but it backfired. Both Morgan Rogers and Leon Bailey went off in the 64th minute and Delap got Ipswich’s equaliser in the 72nd minute. The second goal scorer, Ollie Watkins, went off in the 84th as Villa came under pressure but held on for a point to move down to fifth place. They had a chance to tie with Liverpool with a win.

Liverpool rise to the top

The Reds have had a seamless switch from Jurgen Klopp to Arne Slot. Two goals, one in each half from Konate and a penalty from Mohamed Salah, ensured Liverpool got the better of bottom-placed Wolves 2-1.

Manchester City were forced to a 1-1 result by Newcastle before Arsenal needed two goals in second half added time to get the better of Leicester City 4-2. The same scoreline was recorded at Stamford Bridge as Cole Palmer scored the four Chelsea goals to take another three points and rise to fourth on the table.

Bryan Mbuemo scored again in the first minute of an EPL match but Brentford were forced to a draw by West Ham, whose manager Julen Lopetegui is under increasing pressure to improve his team’s results. Everton got their first league win with a come-from-behind 2-2 victory over Crystal Palace.

There is still one more match on matchday 6 as Bournemouth host Southampton.