Erik ten Hag looked a man in a hurry, dissatisfied with Manchester United's prudent possession and beckoning them forward. That was inside the first three minutes.
United then played at a tempo seldom seen at Old Trafford in living memory and this was the night they neared their optimum under their new manager.
A flexible front three, buccaneering full-backs, imposing centre-backs and a complementary midfield put United within a point of fourth place. All of this was achieved without the totemic Christian Eriksen and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Read more: United player ratings as Fred great and Dalot excellent vs Tottenham
It is a disservice to United their goals were via the counter-attack, such was their dominance against a side who did not show a modicum of belief they could end the evening 10 points ahead of them. Lads, it's Tottenham, after all. Unite peppered the visitors' goal with 28 shots.
The home crowd responded to the hardcore faction's rendition of 'We want Glazers out' and to Antony's crowdpleasing play. The players did to Ten Hag's urgent demands. United launched 19 efforts on Hugo Lloris's goal in a first 45 minutes as far removed from Sunday's flat stalemate with Newcastle, bar the misleading goalless scoreline. There were five saves and Antony kissed the post with an elegant effort.
United re-entered the home dressing room with the score 0-0 for the third game running and that was where the comparisons for Ten Hag stopped with his Dutch predecessor. United more than earned the fortuitous deflection off Ben Davies that ended a Premier League drought of four scoreless halves.
As pleasing as the scalp of a third top-six team for Ten Hag will be the vindication of his bold selections. United are better with Ronaldo on the bench and Fred repaid his manager's leniency with the zenith of his Old Trafford career. Fred, a scorer at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium last year, crowned a remarkable recovery performance to put United ahead.
The Brazilian was fortunate to start with Scott McTominay available again and Eriksen on the bench yet Fred was unrecognisable from three days earlier, piercing Tottenham's loose midfield and unnerving their back three.
Tottenham's midfield trio of Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg outnumbered Casemiro and Fred and their superiority was only numerical. With Casemiro the No.6 and Fred the No.8, Tottenham were at sixes and sevens.
The Stretford Enders dusted off the immortal Joy Division anthem for choruses of "Fred will tear you apart again". Fred is yet to enter the official Old Trafford songbook with a standalone chant and the unsung hero was anything but.
Fred's fellow Portuguese speaker, Bruno Fernandes, was not initially as incisive and vexed Ten Hag with his carelessness. Fernandes rebounded by instigating the attack United scored from and then ruthlessly lashed in the second. Lisandro Martinez hubilantly jumped into Luke Shaw's arms and Raphael Varane hauled the warhorse Casemiro to his feet.
Antonio Conte erred in adding a third midfielder, isolating Harry Kane and Heung-min Son against the formidable axis of Varane and Martinez. The latter relished the Anglo-Argentine duel with Harry Kane, one of the best strikers in the world neutered by one of the world's best defenders in Varane.
Ten Hag's rationale for Ronaldo's withdrawal against Newcastle ("I want to keep him fresh") was unconvincing and pre-empted the inevitable demotion as he reverted to the Rashford-Sancho axis that served United well enough they won four consecutive games in August and September.
Ronaldo is struggling to remain relevant at United. Ten Hag settled on the blueprint for his attack during a pre-season tour Ronaldo was absent for and he has not recovered from it. Few footballers silence their detractors as emphatically as Ronaldo though it is difficult to envisage when opportunities will emerge.
When Anthony Elanga's energy was preferred in the 87th minute, Ronaldo stood motionless by the dugout. United won in what was a personal defeat for one of their greatest players and the affronted Ronaldo trudged down the tunnel in the 90th minute. It is in player and club's interests Jorge Mendes secures an exit route in January.
United were not compromised by Ronaldo's immobility and their finest football and results have been with him as a substitute. That is a credit to the disciplinarian and headstrong manager.
Goals still do not come naturally for United. Rashford struck too centrally at Lloris from Fred's precisely weighted pass and was foiled twice more. He is still yet to score as a centre forward this term.
Sancho, the weakest in red in the first-half, still had the gumption to tee up Fred for the breakthrough. The winger remains a moments man - and has had a few already this season - yet remains too fitful a forward to establish himself in the United team. Whenever Anthony Martial returns, you sense it will be at the expense of Sancho.
Ten Hag repeatedly gestured for the ball to be played forward as United opted for harmless lateral passes that were never going to penetrate Tottenham's midfield triumvirate. Martinez, as much of an asset in attack as defence with his line-breaking passing, was specifically collared for his reluctance to probe. He and his teammates got the message.
The dithering was fleeting, for Lloris conceded corners from five different players inside the first 25 minutes as United more than doubled the two efforts on target against Newcastle on Sunday.
Lloris was far from unbeatable, so routine were the majority of his stops prior to the pause. Conte concealed much of his frustration until he erupted at Bentancur, not shy in returning fire. The Italian verbal jousting was audible from the press box.
To his left, Ten Hag was generating the most resounding response he has yet seen in Manchester.
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