Man Utd suffered a crushing defeat against Tottenham, falling out of the top 4

Tottenham crushed Man Utd 3-0 to keep their dream of competing for the championship alive, while putting their opponent at risk of saying goodbye to the Champions League next season.

Man Utd lost at Tottenham for the first time in the Premier League since 2001. Photo: Reuters.

The game had to go into the second half to see a goal. However, the goals came in droves with Tottenham fans celebrating three times between the 70th and 76th minutes.

Dele Alli opened the scoring with a tap-in from Eriksen's cross. Alli's goal seemed to open the scoring for Tottenham and the home team quickly sealed the score at 3-0 thanks to Toby Alderweireld and Erik Lamela.

The win at White Hart Lane helped Tottenham close the gap with Leicester to seven points and continue to hope to compete for the title in the final five rounds. In contrast, Man Utd are four points behind Man City in the top four race and the risk of saying goodbye to next season's Champions League is clearly ahead.

History is not in Tottenham's favour when hosting Man Utd. The visitors have not lost here since May 2001 and have been Mauricio Pochettino's nemesis since the Argentine's arrival in England. In the six previous matches in charge of Southampton and Tottenham against Man Utd, Pochettino has only won three draws and lost three.

However, all the numbers were broken in the match that just took place. Tottenham started slowly and had times when Man Utd forced them to retreat deep to defend. The home team only regained control in the middle of the first half, creating many stormy situations in front of the goal and missing the opportunity to open the score when Lamela's header went wide.

Man Utd had a lot of possession but could not convert it into a chance to threaten Tottenham's goal. Man Utd's only dangerous striker was Martial working tirelessly on the left wing while his teammates Mata, Lingard and Rashford played poorly. Man Utd's attackers were split and the midfield was overwhelmed by the home players.

Martial's efforts almost paid off in the second half with a classy solo effort before finishing straight at Hugo Lloris. It was United's clearest chance of the game before Dele Alli opened the scoring a few minutes later.

Tottenham is stronger than Man Utd in many aspects at the moment. Photo: Reuters.

Tottenham showed that they are a team with more tactics and method than Man Utd. While coach Van Gaal made a strange change at the beginning of the second half by taking off Rashford and letting Ashley Young play as a center forward, coach Pochettino continued to trust the two midfielders Eriksen and Lamela. It was this duo that made the difference with precise passes and assists for teammates, something Man Utd did not have with Lingard and Mata.

Unfortunately for Man Utd, the player who was playing very well, Fosu-Mensah, had to leave the field due to injury in the second half. Immediately after this defender was out, Tottenham had three goals, all from Man Utd's right wing, where Fosu-Mensah had previously been stationed.

Had Tottenham capitalised on their chances, Man Utd could have suffered a more embarrassing defeat. Dembele missed a chance to face De Gea after the Spanish goalkeeper used his fingers to block Harry Kane's header late on.

According to VNE