Roy Keane slams ‘abysmal’ Spurs, while Graeme Souness says Harry Kane is a ‘shadow’ of himself

Roy Keane and Graeme Souness slammed a ‘desperate’ Tottenham side following a dismal 3-0 defeat against Manchester United on Saturday and questioned Harry Kane’s contribution.

Spurs arrived into the game looking to heap pressure on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose side were still reeling from the 5-0 dismantling they suffered at the hands of Liverpool last week.

However, it was Nuno Espirito Santo’s men who found themselves on the receiving end of a comprehensive defeat, as goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Edinson Cavani and Marcus Rashford provided the perfect tonic for United. 

Kane has struggled for form this season after wanting to leave Spurs in the summer

Speaking after the game in the Sky Sports studio, Keane suggested his former club couldn’t have asked for a better opponent to get over last week’s implosion against Liverpool.

‘I think it was the perfect game for Man United, coming up against Spurs,’ the Irishman said.

‘Spurs don’t score many goals. Once they got the first goal it was a case of how many they were going to score. 

‘We always used to say “It’s Spurs”. This Spurs team were desperate. Spurs kept three players back for a corner. They’re 2-0 down at home. Abysmal.’ 

Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with a brilliantly taken goal for Manchester United

The Portuguese has now scored four goals in seven Premier League appearances this season

Ronaldo set up Edinson Cavani for United’s second as the visitors eased to a much-needed win

Spurs have scored just nine goals in 10 Premier League games this season, the worst of any team in the top-10 and the third-worst return in the league behind only Norwich and Leeds, which are currently bottom and third-from-bottom respectively.

Son Heung-min squandered a good chance early on and Cristian Romero had a goal ruled for offside when the score was still level, but Tottenham failed to create any meaningful openings after that.

Souness suggested Harry Kane and Lucas Moura, who was substituted before the hour mark, were largely responsible for Spurs’ lack of cutting edge. 

Graeme Souness suggested Lucas Moura was a ‘shadow of his former’ self after a poor display

Nuno Espirito Santo was loudly booed when he replaced Moura just before the hour mark

‘Kane and Moura look a shadow of the players they have been in the recent past,’ he said.

‘They’ve had 58 per cent of the ball and have done nothing with it.’

Spurs, who slipped to eighth following the defeat and were leapfrogged by Arsenal failed to register a shot on target, despite seeing far more of the ball. 

Nuno admitted after the game that Spurs were ‘not on the right track’ after the 3-0 defeat

The limp display was met by a chorus of boos from the home fans, with chants of ‘You don’t know what you’re doing’ aimed at Nuno after he replaced Moura with Steven Bergwijn.  

Souness said the frustration was understandable. 

‘Not a shot on target,’ he continued.

‘They [the fans] will go home a frustrating group wondering where this team will go this year. It seems pretty obvious. Mid table at best.’

Roy Keane slammed Spurs for ‘lacking urgency’ after they went two goals down 

Keane echoed his colleague’s thoughts and criticised Spurs for ‘lacking urgency’ after going 2-0 midway through the second half.

‘Spurs are boring,’ he said.

‘They’re boring to watch. Tottenham you’re looking for a bit of urgency. […] The biggest criticism I have of Spurs today, they’re 2-0 down at home, your instinct must be to attack. It’s like you’re throwing the towel in, and there’s 15 minutes to go.’