Manchester United squeak past Tottenham: 3 things we learned

2. Harry Kane’s absence not a major concern, yet

The big team news ahead of the match was that Harry Kane would be absent with a hamstring injury, a big blow for Tottenham, whose struggles without him in the first half of last season proved to be a difference maker in the title race.

Heung-min Son was given the nod ahead of Fernando Llorente in Kane’s absence, and while he was a willing worker throughout, he struggled to influence the match and was often isolated against United’s three center-backs.

Still, it’s hard to say Spurs’ performance suffered significantly without their number 9. Given United’s approach to the match, it’s hard to imagine Kane would have any more joy than Son, who had no notable chances.

Any time Tottenham fail to score without Kane in the starting lineup, there’s a temptation to focus on his absence, but that would be an overreaction to what was an adequate performance away from home against one of the league’s best sides. Spurs were perhaps a little unlucky to lose, and would have taken the lead if Dele Alli had made better contact on Christian Eriksen’s cross in the second half.

Perhaps Mauricio Pochettino would have been slightly more ambitious if he was able to call on his talisman up front, but Tottenham saw plenty of the ball and simply couldn’t break down United’s five-man back line with any consistency. There’s nothing good about missing a player of Kane’s quality for a prolonged period of time, but as disappointing as the result was, there’s no reason for Spurs fans to panic based on this performance,