Manchester United’s impressive run under interim manager Michael Carrick continued as they secured a comfortable 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford, extending their winning streak to four matches and piling further pressure on Spurs boss Thomas Frank.

Tottenham, eager to spark a revival in form, showed early intent when Conor Gallagher latched onto Xavi Simons’ clever lofted pass, but the midfielder failed to make clean contact and could not trouble Senne Lammens.

That proved to be the visitors’ best moment of the opening half. United soon took control, with Matheus Cunha firing narrowly wide after being picked out by Diogo Dalot, before Bruno Fernandes dragged an effort past the post following good work from Amad Diallo.

The hosts began slicing through Spurs’ defence with increasing ease, and the visitors’ task became even more difficult when captain Cristian Romero was sent off just before the half-hour mark. The defender was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge that saw him catch Casemiro on the ankle with his studs.

United capitalised quickly on their numerical advantage. Seven minutes later, Fernandes’ deflected shot led to a corner, which was worked to Bryan Mbeumo via Kobbie Mainoo. The Cameroon international kept his composure, stroking the ball through a crowd of players into the bottom corner for his 10th goal of the season.

Before the interval, Tottenham goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario was kept busy, tipping Casemiro’s header over the bar and later racing off his line to deny Amad in a one-on-one situation, ensuring the deficit remained at just one goal.

United thought they had doubled their lead shortly after the restart when Luke Shaw’s cutback was turned in by Amad, but the effort was ruled out for offside.

Spurs briefly threatened when Shaw lost possession to Simons, forcing Lammens into a full-stretch save from distance, but it was largely one-way traffic. Shaw remained heavily involved, seeing one effort saved by Vicario and another blocked by Micky van de Ven as United pressed for a second.

Another offside decision went against the hosts on 65 minutes when Cunha capitalised on a loose Vicario pass and found Fernandes, only for the move to be halted for an earlier infringement.

Frank attempted to change the momentum with a triple substitution in the closing stages, introducing fresh attacking options. However, any hopes of a comeback were swiftly extinguished.

Dalot produced a superb cross to find Fernandes at the back post, and the Portuguese midfielder guided the ball in with his shin to seal the victory.

Mbeumo nearly added a third late on, but it mattered little as United comfortably saw out the contest to strengthen their position in the top four.

For Tottenham, the defeat extended their winless domestic run to eight matches (D4, L4). They remain 14th in the table and could find themselves just six points above the relegation zone by the end of the weekend, increasing the pressure on Frank as concerns continue to mount.