Tottenham beat Manchester United 2

LONDON -- If ever there was a moment to convince you, long before there is the evidence base to make a sensible conclusion, it was Ben Davies darting into the box to deliver the coup de grâce. For three and a bit seasons, the opposition penalty area has existed as a mirage in the distance for his kind. Tottenham defenders don't go there, his bosses taught him. Ange Postecoglu is changing that.

That Davies made at best minimal contact on Ivan Perisic's cross, far less than eventual own goal scorer Lisandro Martinez, doesn't spoil the point as much as you might assume (nor does the fact that Davies did in fact get forward a time or two under previous Spurs boss Antonio Conte, at least initially). After all, even in this particularly chaotic performance, the Argentine would surely have been bettered prepared to deal with the low ball if he had not had both the Welshman and Dejan Kulusevski attacking the space he was supposed to defend.

The sheer pressure Spurs put on the visitors box and in particular on Martinez was what won the day for them. Manchester United's No.6 had had almost as significant a role in the opener, deflecting Dejan Kulusevski's cross into the path of Pape Matar Sarr, a player who prior to the start of the season had registered one touch in the Premier League in 213 minutes. Today he ended the game with five shots from prime positions.

"He's got a great energy about him," said Postecoglu, a man clearly loath to get caught up in the excitement that engulfed his new home. "He's got quality there too. He's one of these midfielders who causes opposition problems because it's him running with the ball, without the ball. He runs forward. He runs aggressively. He disrupts positions. He's got a great temperament for a young guy." Could you imagine such fulsome praise from Antonio Conte for anyone under the age of 28?

At last the midfielders were crashing a box that wasn't their own. The defenders felt empowered to build attacks themselves rather than finding the most expedient way to work the ball to Harry Kane. The front three might have taken time to get going on the ball, but they seemed to relish their instructions to press up the pitch, Heung-Min Son in particular making life hard for Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

No wonder the Tottenham fanbase seem head over heels with their new manager. Less than three minutes into his first competitive game at home might seem a little early to be chanting "oh Ange Postecoglu," but after so long under the heel of conservative managers who have given every impression that they see themselves as doing a favor to their employers, the Australian has given every impression that he has found himself at a destination rather than a way station. That has evidently invigorated the fanbase and the players.

Restoring the progressive traditions that Tottenham supporters demand will come with some trying moments. Spurs suffered a fair few of them in a first half where they were only ever a moment of United individualism away from being cut to ribbons. When Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw delivered the right ball from the left half space they found team mates well placed to do much better with headers than they did. The former went from provider of the first chance to waster of the second, a clumsy header that flew high and wide when anything on target would have beaten Guglielmo Vicario, no matter how impressive the Italian was on his home debut.

The vagaries of VAR meant that Marcus Rashford's brilliant nutmeg of Micky van de Ven didn't result in a penalty later on in the move when Alejandro Garnacho's shot hit Cristiano Romero. Attached as it was at the elbow joint, the Argentine's arm was not in an unnatural position, but that offers no guarantees where the unknowable handball laws are concerned. The shining individual moment of the match might just have been Andre Onana breezing away from Kulusevski before dropping a 60 yard cross-field ball at the feet of Garnacho, putting United in a position where Fernandes could drop a rabona cross on the head of Marcus Rashford.

Every United cross, dead balls or live, seemed to result in a heart in mouth moment. Two of Vicario's best blocks saw him sprawl high towards his crossbar to tip over headers from Raphael Varane and Casemiro. The seven saves the Italian made today is a tally "bettered" by only three players in this formative season. For all that this seemed a frustrating day for United they generated 22 shots worth a total of 1.99 expected goals. To walk away from that with nothing is a testament to Vicario, but Postecoglu cannot plan for such excellence on a weekly basis.

Spurs left gaps yes, but at least they did so in pursuit of something. Last season this ground saw their team leave chasms of space despite resolutely occupying their own half of the field. Now, the Tottenham midfielders were charging into the box and sprinting back when possession was turned over. Their young defense grew into the contest and had much the better of United's forwards in the second half.

Ahead of them, Bissouma was an authoritative presence while James Maddison looked like the one piece every top side needs, a midfielder who can consistently break through opposition pressure. His slicing through three United players on the edge of his own box before releasing Son on the left was a blueprint moment for Spurs. Two games into his tenure, Postecoglu looks to have found the midfield balance that Erik ten Hag has sacrificed by swapping Christian Eriksen for Mason Mount. The latter was deployed deeper today as United attempted to cover some of the problems that emerged in their fortuitous win over Wolves. Instead, a player one might have assumed would be his team's key ball progressor ended up with only 14 completed passes, delivering little of note in a match where Spurs forced the visitors to build up down their weaker right flank.

For Tottenham, there is a long way to go, as Postecoglu himself noted: "There were encouraging signs there. There were elements, particularly in the second half, where we showed the team we want to be. That's what you're looking for but I'm not silly enough to think two weeks into the season, six or so into my tenure, that we're going to be putting in complete performances. What you want to see is some sprouts of growth in terms of the team you want to be. I definitely saw that."

This game should be, he said, "a benchmark" rather than a pinnacle. Two tricky matches have brought four points but also saw Brentford and United register 33 shots. Inverting Emerson Royal and in particular Pedro Porro from right back is going to test the defensive instincts of players who struggled enough in transition under more cautious managers. It would help no end if more of the numerous shots Spurs are manufacturing fell to Son and Richarlison, whose five between them so far is one fewer than Sarr.

This is supposed to be a team in transition, though, one from whom a little less might be tolerated after the departure of their transformative player. What Tottenham supporters wanted to see was a team pointing in the right direction, aiming for something a little more profound than just another year of Champions League football. On Postecoglu's home bow, they got and a fair bit more. No wonder they were cheering his name to the rafters.