That’s it for today’s blog. Jonathan Wilson was lucky enough to be at the game, and I’ll leave you with his match report. Thanks for your company, goodnight!

Here’s Jose Mourinho

“We played against a good team - lots of quality, lots of power - and they reacted [to going behind]. We had great opportunities to score the second goal. Dean [Henderson] made two very, very good saves, especially the one from Harry Kane. We were dominant at 2-1, but then they scored the third goal. My opinion is that it was a very good game and we did not deserve this result at all. But we lost against a very good team.

“I think we were unlucky because maybe Pogba should get a red card for the elbow on Serge Aurier. If you are going to speak about VAR, maybe we have to go deeper than the disallowed goal. [On the disallowed goal, were you fortunate?] I don’t know anything any more. In football, you don’t know anything any more. I watched Fulham-Wolves, I don’t understand anything any more. Sometimes you get [decisions], sometimes you don’t get, but it’s very difficult to analyse, even as a coach. I don’t know how to comment.

“It’s difficult. You don’t know. You don’t celebrate goals because you are afraid. When you see the offside lines, you don’t really understand whether it’s offside or not. Then the contact, you don’t know. It’s difficult. But to speak about that after a defeat, I don’t feel comfortable.

“It’s a concern [that Spurs keep losing half-time leads]. I know some of the reasons, but it’s very hard for me to be [honest] with you, with the media, because when I go deeper on analysing the game I don’t feel very comfortable, so I prefer to praise my players for the effort. I believe they gave everything. I believe they deserved more, but I praise United for their victory and I prefer to stay like this.”

Mourinho’s first Chelsea team dropped only six points from winning positions in his first two seasons.

Here’s Scott McTominay

“It’s a brilliant win. We were frustrated at half-time but the message was clear from the manager: keep calm. That’s what he kept saying to the players, that there’s no need to panic. We’ve been here before, we know we have good characters in the team and good players who want to take the ball against a really difficult team.

“We have to start getting better in the first 30 minutes of games. By our standards that wasn’t good enough, but there were nothing but positives in the first half. The referees have to make decisions - personally I’m not a fan of VAR, but it’s part and parcel of the games. It was obviously a goal, the referee made a mistake, but it happens: everyone makes mistakes in life.

“At the time... you can’t accept that, it’s a total injustice. But you’ve got to get on with the game, and for us to come away with three points is pleasing. Fred was terrific today; he even got in the box! I’m sure the manager will be pleased with a lot of the players today. We spoke a lot beforehand that we owe these a proper game [after the 6-1], and today was much better.”

One more game and then you can watch Line of Duty

That second-half performance is as well as United have played under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. They were sulking towards the end of the first half when a big VAR call went against them and then Son gave Spurs the lead, but they channelled it during half-time and played with ferocious purpose thereafter. Fred equalised - Fred equalised! - and then Mason Greenwood had a decisive impact. He set up a classic diving header for Edinson Cavani and sealed a deserved victory in injury-time. After a difficult second season, he is quietly hitting form at a very good time.

Cavani played a short pass back to Pogba, 30 yards from goal. He beat Dier and Hojbjerg with some smart footwork and then slid the ball across to Greenwood on the edge of the area. Greenwood lost Reguilon with a typical stepover and smashed a right-footed shot that beat Lloris for pace aat the near post.

90+5 min “Very satisfying,” says Ciarán Brennan, “seeing Solskjaer shut the game down with the most Mourinho signing ever in Matic.”

90+4 min Aurier is booked for flattening Shaw, a petulant foul that allows United to kill a bit more time.

90+3 min Reguilon makes an excellent lunging tackle on Greenwood, who played a one-two on Cavani and was almost through on goal.

90+3 min Pogba and Fred waste a bit omre time by keeping the ball in the Spurs half.

90+2 min Spurs are struggling to get any attacking momentum, and now Sissoko has been booked for a foul on Fred.

90+2 min “Mourinho has got to go,” write Mike and Jill Mahoney. “This is beyond a joke. It’s exactly the same every game. Get this toxic man out of my club now.”

I’m sensing rancour.

90+1 min There will be six minutes of added time.

90 min Another change for United: Nemanja Matic replaces Bruno Fernandes, who didn’t get a goal or assist but played an important part in both goals.

88 min “Pogba has, as you said, a fine game,” says Colum Farrelly. “His skills seem best deployed in front of the holding midfielders as opposed to with them. A bit like Gerrard under Benitez, I think.”

I’m not sure there’s a natural position for him in a 4-2-3-1, but I agree that you want him much further forward when possible, especially in games where you dominate possession.

86 min After a dreadful first half hour, this has been richly entertaining fare.

84 min: Cavani hits his own post! The corner was flicked on at the near post by Pogba, and Cavani, stretching desperately, headed it onto the post. He had to go for it, with Sissoko waiting behind him to score, and really had to strain his neck muscles to get enough on the ball to take it away from goal. Just.

83 min Now Spurs have to push for an equaliser. Aurier slides a very dangerous low cross that is belted behind by Lindelof, facing his own goal.

82 min Gareth Bale comes on for Lucas Moura, who was lively as always and made the opening goal for Son.

81 min United have been sensational in the second half. It’s even more impressive because they had totally lost the noggin at the end of the first half. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer deserves so much credit for turning that petulance into a furious purpose.

The move started with some crisp short passing on the right wing. Then Bruno Fernandes nutmegged Reguilon to find Greenwood on the right corner of the area. He curled a stunning first-time cross to the far post, where Cavani flew through the air like Keith Houchen and slammed a header back across Lloris. What a brilliant goal.

78 min A change for Spurs: Erik Lamela, the pantomime villain of the return fixture, comes on for Tanguy Ndombele.

77 min United win a free-kick 30 yards out. It’s the perfect distance for Rashford, but he’s off the field, so Fernandes plays it out to McTominay. His cross is blocked by Hojbjerg. Well done everyone.

75 min “I have no real view on the McTominay flick/slap/assault (delete as applicable),” says Tom Atkins, “but I do recall Manchester United’s current manager getting Sol Campbell sent off in 2003 for a similar fending off. It cost him a three match ban, a place in the FA Cup final and arguably the league (his backup was Pascal Cygan). If you hold a grudge long enough sometimes you get to enjoy moments like this.”

Well, that was an elbow to the forehead, which is slightly different. But it’s a good point and it was a huge story at the time. The only other thing I’d say is that Campbell was still available to play at Bolton, which was the decisive game in Arsenal’s collapse.

73 min The corner ricochets around the area until Aurier, five yards out, puts an overhead kick into orbit. He was in an offside position, though had he scored there would have been an argument over whether he was active the last time a Spurs player touched the ball. There’s always an argument.

73 min: Good save from Henderson! Son finds Kane near the byline on the left. He cuts inside and then hammers a disguised shot towards the near post. Henderson reacts smartly to kick it behind for a corner.

71 min Mason Greenwood comes on to replace a very weary Marcus Rashford.

71 min United have battered Spurs in the second half, but the score is 1-1 so they are still ripe for a Mourinho mugging. I don’t think Spurs have done the double over United since 1989-90, so it would be a worthy achievement.

70 min Maguire loses the ball to Kane, pulls him back and is booked.

68 min Shaw is booked for a foul on Lucas Moura.

67 min: What a chance for Pogba! A corner is half cleared, only as far as Shaw on the left. His deep cross picks out Fernandes, who cushions the ball across the six-yard line to Pogba. He tries a backheel towards goal that is blocked by Dier, and then falls over. He should probably have just tried a shot on the turn. It was a brilliant cross from Shaw in the first place, flicked nonchalantly with the outside of the foot. He is playing with stratospheric confidence the noo.

66 min United have dominated the game since half-time, playing with an impressively controlled aggression. I thought they might lose the plot after the way the first half ended.

63 min: Lovely save from Lloris! Bruno Fernandes picks up a loose ball 35 yards out and heads for goal. He gets to within 20 yards and cracks a left-footed shot across goal that is pushed away at full stretch by Lloris. That’s a brilliant stop.

62 min Henderson forces a pass behind Maguire towards Kane, and Henderson charges out of his area to clear. That was good goalkeeping; for a split-second it looked like Kane was through on goal.

61 min A change for Spurs, with Moussa Sissoko replacing Giovani Lo Celso.

60 min: Good save from Henderson! This is a cracking game now. Aurier’s shot was blocked by Lindelof and looped to Son on the other side of the area. He dragged a low shot through the legs of Wan-Bissaka that was kicked away by Henderson. “A de Gea save”, as Gary Neville observes on Sky Sports.

59 min Pogba, who has been superb in the second half, finds Fernandes on the right side of the area with a good pass, but Fernandes’s low cross is behind everyone and Spurs clear.

United sliced the Spurs defence apart with some beautiful short passing just outside the penalty area. Rashford, Fernandes and Fred were all involved. Eventually Fred put Cavani through on goal, and though his shot was saved superbly by Lloris, Fred followed up to score from close range.

55 min A crisp sidefoot from McTominay, 25 yards out, is pushed away by Lloris as he falls to his left. It was a pretty comfortable save, but United are looking more dangerous than they did before the break.

54 min It’s easy to forget, with all the shouting about VAR, that this is an extremely important 35 minutes for Spurs. A win today would put them above Liverpool on goal difference and only four points behind Leicester in third.

53 min Pogba’s dangerous cross from the right is poked just wide of his own goal by Rodon. He had to go for it with Cavani behind him; Cavani was offside but Rodon couldn’t have known that. Shaw’s corner is cleared.

50 min What VAR has exposed is that nobody really knows how to apply the laws of the game, even the referees. Football is drowning in ambiguity.

49 min Shaw’s long cross finds Wan-Bissaka, whose volleyed cross from a tight angle turns into a shot. Lloris, well positioned, pushes it away at the near post.

48 min A slick move from United ends with Pogba playing the ball through to Rashford. He tries to work an angle for a shot but the Spurs defender, Dier I think, does really well to hold him up. At the other end, Kane chips over the bar from 20 yards, and Fred is booked for fouling Aurier in the build up.

46 min Peep peep! Spurs begin the second half. Fred dumps Ndombele on his derriere after nine seconds, so maybe United haven’t cooled off.

I’ve had a quick scan of the emails (thanks one and all). Roughly 60 per cent of you reckon it was a foul, 40 per cent say the game’s gone.

The issue isn’t whether it was a foul, it’s whether it was a ‘clear and obvious error’. The fact there is nothing resembling consensus suggests it probably wasn’t. But the bigger issue is the ruinous fasttracking of VAR. Had they trialled it properly, over a few years, it could have been a great thing. At the moment it’s about as rewarding as a smart speaker that senses when you’re on the cusp of orgasm, and at that precise moment starts playing your mother’s voice.

“It’s a flick in the face,” says Phil Beattie. “I honestly have no idea what you are watching. Son is a good yard behind McTominay - he isn’t ‘holding him off’. He throws his arm backwards and hits Son in the face. It’s a foul, and he’s really lucky not to get a second booking. Gary Neville might be confused but he’s not exactly neutral is he?”

I’m watching the same game as you, Phil. For what it’s worth, Manchester City alumnus Micah Richards and former Spurs midfielder Jamie Redknapp also thought it wasn’t a foul.

Half-time reading

And to think United need somebody to score a goal.

“You wrote, ‘Some of the behaviour in the last few months has been a bit pathetic,’” says Ingo Herzke. “While I fully agree with your sentiment in general and in particular, I don’t think that’s what you intended to write.”

I realised that a couple of minutes later and amended it to ‘minutes’, though on reflection I think I prefer ‘months’.

I’ve just checked and Kane was onside in the build-up to Son’s goal, so there’s no controversy there.

45+2 min Fernandes’s cross just evades Cavani at the far post.

45+1 min Three minutes of added time.

45 min Martin Convery writes to say that Kane was offside in the build up to Son’s goal. I haven’t seen a replay but that would make an even greater mockery of this first half. Now Fernandes is saying Hojbjerg has elbowed him. Some of the behaviour in the last few minutes has been a bit pathetic, but it all stems from that disallowed goal.

44 min Rashford thinks he has won a corner but then finds out he has been penalised for a challenge on Son. United need half-time to cool off.

41 min: It’s kicking off! Cavani has been booked. He pushed Rodon over, then went back for more, at which point the players on both sides converged. United are in high dudgeon; even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has a murderous look on his face.

Ndombele fired a pass into Kane on the edge of the D. He half-volleyed a first-time pass around the corner to release Lucas Moura, with Lindelof getting in a tangle as he tried to intercept. Moura could have shot but instead slid the ball across the penalty area to Son, who beat Henderson from close range.

39 min Kane wriggles away from Wan-Bissaka on the left of the area and drags a low cross that beats everyone in the middle.

38 min VAR, so much to answer for.

McTominay flicked his hand out, just to hold Son off, but he caught him in the face.

Chris Kavanagh is going to the monitor. Manchester United could lose a goal and a man here.

It’s still being checked by VAR. This could go either way.

McTominay definitely caught Son, though it was a hand-off more than anything. The goal was excellent: an imaginative short pass from Pogba to Cavani, who made a great run behind Dier and swept the ball past Lloris.

33 min “I’m pretty sure we’ve entered a parallel universe,” says Stephen Carr, “where its Mourinho’s Utd v Mourinho’s Spurs.”

32 min Lo Celso sweeps Rashford’s feet from under him, right on the edge of the area, but the referee doesn’t deem it a foul. That doesn’t impress Rashford much.

31 min At this stage of the return game, Spurs were 2-1 up and Anthony Martial had been sent off.

29 min United’s passing and movement has been really sluggish. They look like a team who need the cattle prod of going behind.

28 min Pogba and Rashford have swapped again, so Pogba is back on the left.

27 min I’ll wake you up when something happens.

24 min Pogba and Rashford have switched wings.

23 min Bruno Fernandes tries to release Rashford with a long angled pass. Aurier does well to get across and intercept. It hasn’t been the greatest game so far, I won’t lie to you.

20 min Son wins another corner for Spurs, who have quietly been the better team in the first 20 minutes. Nothing comes of it.

18 min McTominay is booked for a hack at Ndombele. Poor tackle, that.

17 min Good defending from Dier! Fernandes’s long, angled ball from the right was headed down by Pogba to Cavani on the edge of the D. He cushioned a disguised half-volleyed pass to Rashford, who stormed into the area and smacked a shot that deflected behind off the sliding Dier.

15 min Lo Celso steals the ball off Pogba with a lovely, Giggs-like sliding tackle. Nothing comes of it but the tackle was too good not to mention.

15 min United haven’t really got going as an attacking unit. Spurs have been a bit better, with Lucas Moura especially lively.

12 min Shaw curls a good ball down the left to Fred, who tries to cut inside Aurier and slips over. And it was going so well.

10 min Lucas Moura’s cross is headed behind by Lindelof at the near post. It’s been a perky start from Spurs, but Lo Celso’s corner isn’t the best and Shaw clears.

9 min “If United were to sign Kane, I feel that his laser-focused desire for silverware would result in the goals needed to drive them to the title,” says Duncan Edwards. “The precedent being Robin van Persie.”

I know what you mean, although the gap to the champions wasn’t as big then.

8 min Aurier is down holding his face after wearing Pogba’s forearm. Nothing was given, and Aurier looks pretty aggrieved.

7 min Nothing much to report so far. It’s been quite an open start to the game though.

5 min Reguilon is shoved over by Rashford, but the referee Chris Kavanagh sees no evil. That was definitely a foul.

3 min Lo Celso’s corner is headed away to the edge of the area by McTominay. Son is first to the loose ball, albeit under pressure from Fred, and he slashes over on the half-volley.

2 min Spurs have started with Lo Celso as the No10 and Lucas Moura on the right. Moura has an early run and rifles a shot that goes behind off Luke Shaw.

1 min Peep peep! Manchester United kick off from left to right.

It looks like Paul Pogba is starting on the left, with Marcus Rashford as the right-sided attacker.

There will be a two-minute silence in memory of the Duke of Edinburgh.

The players are in the tunnel. Lucas Moura and Fred embrace, as do Edinson Cavani and Giovani Lo Celso. If only Graeme Souness’s internal monologue was on the red button.

“On the assumption that football with crowds will return for next season, United have a big opportunity to do what they have always done, which is to break the British transfer record,” says Rick Harris. “Forget Kane, he is unlikely to go to another PL outfit if he leaves Spurs. Haaland is the player United need to get if at all possible. Yes, he will cost big bucks, and yes he will demand the highest salary at the club, but he is the single player out there that can take United to the next level and score the goals they will need to lift the title.”

I’m not sure United can afford him this summer. Even if they can, I suspect Alfie will be as receptive to the idea as Jack Walker was to Alan Shearer joining United in 1996.

Never mind United: who should Spurs sign in the summer? Let’s assume Kane stays.

“On who United need,” is the subject of Francis Mead’s email. “My take is that, if we are to get better, we need a better organising/defensive midfielder - who can provide threat upfront with passes and more. So I think we need to replace Fred, solid as he is - with one of the following: Kalvin Phillips or Ruben Neves - I like Neves, since he’s good in possession and provides a goal threat with his shooting. Yes, Phillips has been rather conservative for England, but his passing is usually excellent. Rice is very good defensively - but does he give enough going forward? Kane I’m agnostic on.”

“It can’t be too often that fans of all clubs from 3rd to 11th, including those of Liverpool and Leeds, will be hoping (quietly or not) that Manchester United win,” says Julian Menz. “Nine clubs chasing three European places (depending on cup results of course) is going to be a tight squeeze.”

“How seriously should United entertain the notion of going after Kane, given his price and what we need elsewhere?” wonders Christopher Faherty. “Personally think Rice should be our primary target with a bullet but it’s clear that Solskjaer doesn’t trust in either Martial or Rashford to do the business up front regularly enough and while Kane has a limitation with his pace if he was to be played as a nine, if Solskjaer sees us a team that needs to maximise chance-taking over chance-creation, Kane’s a good fit for that. It’s a no for me, but the idea has merits.”

I’d imagine the only chance is a player-plus-cash deal. There are a few United players that Mourinho likes, Lingard in particular. I don’t think Rice is a priority, fine player though he is. Personally I’d buy a centre-forward - ideally Kane - and a right-winger (or attacking right-back) first. But so much depends on who is available and how much money they have.

Pre-match reading