by Simon Williams

FOR the first time in Premier League history, Manchester United conceded four first-half goals as Tottenham Hotspur ran riot at Old Trafford.

The Reds had taken the lead inside two minutes through a Bruno Fernandes penalty.

But their defensive frailties were once again on show as Tanguy Ndombele levelled before Heung Min Son made it 2-1 inside 10 minutes.

Anthony Martial saw red just before the half-hour mark before Harry Kane and Son made it 4-1 before the break.

Serge Aurier made made it five just after the break and Kane hammered in a sixth from the penalty spot with 13 minutes remaining.

“It’s very embarrassing,” said United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer after the game. “It’s hurt all the players and it’s hurt me as the manager — it’s my worst day ever. I hold my hand up, I am responsible for this.

“I’ve been part of a team that’s lost 5-0. We’ve lost 6-1. We’ve lost big results before and we’ve always bounced back. And I promise we’ll do everything we can to turn this around.”

Spurs were caught cold inside 30 seconds when Davison Sanchez bundled into Martial in the area. Fernandes stepped up to take the resulting penalty which he coolly slotted past Hugo Lloris.

But United’s lead lasted just two minutes when Ndombele drilled the ball home after some awful defending from Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly.

And the away side had put the frustration of conceding so early behind them four minutes later when Kane threaded the ball through to Son who cleverly lifted the ball over the onrushing David de Gea. The United defence were once again all at sea.

The home side came close to levelling the scores with Mason Greenwood firing just wide before Son had the chance to extend his sides lead but failed to control the ball while bearing down on goal.

United’s afternoon then went from bad to worse side a crazy nine minute spell. First Martial was dismissed for taking a swipe across the face of Erik Lamela before Kane and Son both capitalised on more abysmal defending to make it 4-1 before half-time.

Solskjaer made changes at half-time with Scott Mctominay and Fred replacing Nemanja Matic and Fernandes.

But it seemed to make every little difference as Spurs netted within six minutes of the restart, Aurier firing the ball past De Gea after Paul Pogba had seemingly switched off allowing the Ivorian free passage into the area.

Pogba was again at fault for Spurs’ sixth goal of the afternoon, clumsily bring down substitute Ben Davies in the area before Kane stepped up to take the resulting penalty.

After the game Spurs manager Jose Mourinho praised the performance of his players at the end of what’s been a congested run of games.

He said: “The team was brave. The team was confident. To be losing 1-0 after a few seconds is not easy if you are not confident. But the team was confident, we forgot the result and the reaction in the first half was phenomenal.

“I can imagine some people will focus on the second half — 11 against 10. I prefer to focus on the first half — 11 against 11.

"We were so so good at every level. We deserve so so much the victory. To win at Old Trafford against Manchester United 6-1 is an honour for all of us because of the history of Manchester United.”