It was certainly a battle – as Manchester United went down 3-0 at Old Trafford to pile even more pressure on Erik ten Hag – that Tottenham Hotspur’s Micky van de Ven won.
As the Red Devils produced one of the worst displays of the Ten Hag era in front of a bemused home crowd, Spurs’ jet-heeled centre-half picked up the ball inside his penalty area and charged upfield like a hungry lion through a pack of terrified gazzelles.
Micky van de Ven just kept on going.
There was no stopping a man officially classed as the quickest Premier League footballer since records began, Van de Ven eventually rolling the ball across the face of Andre Onana’s goal for Brennan Johnson to tap home.
But, while Van de Ven’s performance will be remembered for an assist for the ages, the former Wolfsburg colossus was equally pleased with the way he helped counter the threat of Manchester United’s frontline.
Tottenham ace highlights Manchester United duo Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund
Van de Ven plays alongside Joshua Zirkzee for the Dutch national team.
And, while Zirkzee has been criticsed amid a profligate start to his Man United career, Van de Ven knows first-hand just how fearsome an opponent Zirkzee can be; boasting the sort of footwork and movement centre-halves hate.
Van de Ven found himself going head-to-head with a very different sort of number nine when Ten Hag brought Rasmus Hojlund off the bench, too.
“All strikers in the Premier League are serious business,” Van de Ven tells Voetbal Primeur. “If you’re not sharp enough, he can easily be in.”
“We recently played against United and then you come up against Joshua Zirkzee. He’s a top player. Then, Rasmus Hojlund comes on. Also a top player.
“Those are matches you’re waiting for. The same goes for Arsenal with Kai Havertz, Manchester City and Liverpool.”
As Man United continue to struggle in the final third – they have not scored in any of their last three league matches – concerns are growing about whether Ten Hag is really the man to harness the potential of a talented frontline.
Erik ten Hag under pressure after Spurs deepened United’s woes
Zirkzee was labelled the best link-man in the world at Bologna, winning Serie A’s Young Player of the Year award.
When Man United play to his strengths, Zirkzee’s clever interplay has looked like the Red Devils’ best source of creativity. Unfortunately, with Bruno Fernandes out of form and Marcus Rashford stuck on the touchline, Zirkzee has spent much of the last few outings isolated up top.
Man United’s midfield appears just as vulnerable as it was last season too, due largely to a set-up which leaves the Red Devils outnumbered more often than not in the centre of the park.
“You start a sprint like that when you think something is going to come of it,” Van de Ven explains, the cavernous gaps in United’s engine room all the encouragement he needed turn defence into attack with a trademark forward surge in Tottenham’s 3-0 win.
“I saw the space and I know where the wingers are going to come, and that they train a lot [to make those runs at the far past]. Then, I just have to fire it hard in front of the goal.”
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