VAR dominated the first period, with Luke Shaw fortunate to see yellow and not red for a forceful challenge on Johann Berg Gudmundsson, before Harry Maguire’s header was ruled out for a foul on Erik Pieters.

Burnley came to life after Pogba’s second league goal of the season, but United saw out the victory which puts them three points clear of champions Liverpool and top of the Premier League at the 17-game mark for the first time since their 2012/13 title-winning season under Sir Alex Ferguson.

United are now unbeaten in 15 Premier League away games, their last defeat on the road came in January 2020 at Anfield, where they head next on.

Man Utd manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer told Sky Sports: “When you get three points in the Premier League it makes you smile. It was a hard-fought three points; it always is up here.

“Paul [Pogba] is a big player for us, he’s a character in the dressing room, is always one that the lads look to, he’s a world champion. We’re seeing the best of Paul at the moment; he’s getting better and better every game.

“It’s a brilliant position to be in [three points clear of Liverpool]. Of course, we know we’re going to the champions who have had an unbelievable three-and-a-half seasons, we know it’s going to be a difficult game for us, but we are ready for it.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better time to play Liverpool because we are in good shape, in good form and are hungry, which is a good thing because these boys want to get better and that’s the test of their character and quality.”

Burnley boss Sean Dyche told Sky Sports: “I thought it was a good performance against a top side who are doing well. We are improving and will continue to grow as the season goes on.

“I thought they [the officials] dealt with it [the VAR incidents] the best way they could. The outcome was the correct one.

“I am a big fan of being careful with the physicality, but on another day that tackle (Shaw’s foul) is just a little bit too high and just a little too late.

“I don’t want to see people red-carded, but on another day, he might have been off for that.”

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Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho has slammed Frank de Boer over comments the former Crystal Palace manager made about striker Marcus Rashford.

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Tottenham’s Christian Eriksen scored within 11 seconds on Wednesday to overshadow Alexis Sanchez’s Premier League debut for Manchester United, while Chelsea crashed to a 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge.

Manchester City ignored the carnage around them to march serenely on, widening their lead to an enormous 15 points with a 3-0 victory at home to West Brom with just 13 games still to play.

The build-up to Wednesday’s matches was dominated by late moves in the transfer window but Spurs ensured the focus switched back to the pitch immediately, stunning Jose Mourinho’s men with a performance full of attacking verve in a 2-0 win.

Chelsea, who earlier announced the signing of Olivier Giroud from Arsenal, conceded three second-half goals while Theo Walcott scored twice for his new club Everton in a 2-1 win against Leicester.

“We always try to be aggressive from the beginning,” said delighted Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino. “Our aim is to be focused from the beginning. You can win a game if you’re ready to fight. It was massive to be up early in the game.

“Three more points puts us in a very good position to fight for the top four. I’m sure new signing Lucas Moura enjoyed that a lot.”

The painful defeat for United realistically ends any lingering hopes they may have harboured of catching runaway leaders City.

Mourinho signed Sanchez this month to bolster his attacking options but Spurs caught the visitors cold at a packed Wembley, Eriksen opening the scoring from the kick-off following a long ball from inside the Tottenham half.

The goal, timed at 10.48 seconds, was the first United have conceded in 2018 but despite some bright moments of their own they were 2-0 down just before the half-hour after Phil Jones lashed the ball into his own net.

Tottenham, who announced the signing of Moura from Paris Saint-Germain shortly before kick-off, were a constant threat and had multiple chances to stretch their lead.

Mourinho threw on Juan Mata and Marouane Fellaini in the 63rd minute but bizarrely took Fellaini off just seven minutes later, replacing him with Ander Herrera. The Belgium international took off his shirt and marched straight down the tunnel.

The impressive win for Spurs puts them right back at the heart of the hunt for a Champions League qualification spot, just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

“It’s a performance that starts with a ridiculous goal,” said Mourinho. “That goal after a few seconds has a big influence in the game because Tottenham can play the way they like to play.

“In the end we played against a very good team. Both goals were ridiculous goals.”

– Chelsea defeat –

He said the signing of Giroud would not necessarily solve the club’s problems in front of goal.

“In the past with a striker we have chances and still don’t score,” he said. “I think now is not the right moment to speak of the transfer market for me. It’s not important, it’s important to work and do best with my players.”

It was business as usual for Guardiola’s City, who handed a debut to £57-million-pound ($80 million, 65 million euros) defender Aymeric Laporte, who only signed for the club from Athletic Bilbao on Tuesday.

City struck through Fernandinho midway through the first half and doubled their lead through Kevin De Bruyne in the second half before Sergio Aguero struck late on.

City earlier opted out of a bid for Leicester’s Riyad Mahrez, with reports putting the transfer package at £95 million, after ending their chase of Sanchez earlier in the transfer window, due to slam shut at 2300 GMT.

In other big-money moves on Wednesday, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sealed a move to Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for a club-record fee of around £56 million.

In other results on Wednesday, Newcastle drew 1-1 with Burnley, Southampton drew 1-1 at home to Brighton and Stoke were involved in a goalless stalemate with Watford.

On Tuesday, Swansea shocked Arsenal 3-1 while Liverpool beat Huddersfield 3-0 and West Ham drew 1-1 with Crystal Palace.

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Arteta’s eyebrow was split open during a melee in a narrow corridor outside City’s dressing room and there were unconfirmed reports that another member of Guardiola’s backroom staff needed medical treatment after a confrontation sparked by José Mourinho apparently telling the victorious players to keep their music down.

Mourinho became embroiled in a row with Ederson, City’s Brazilian goalkeeper, who was standing just inside the dressing-room door and the two started shouting insults at one another in Portuguese. Mourinho is said to have accused Ederson of play-acting to waste time and then reverted to English, screaming “you fucking show respect. Who are you?”

Other players became involved and Romelu Lukaku was said to be prominently involved as the confrontation escalated into something much more serious, described by one person on the scene as being reminiscent of a pub fight. Early accounts indicate it was a much more serious incident than the infamous “Battle of the Buffet” in 2004 when Arsenal were the opponents and Sir Alex Ferguson was hit by flying pizza slices.

There were also reports that Mourinho was struck by a plastic bottle, as well as being squirted with milk, although that has not been confirmed and the Guardian has been told he escaped lightly despite being in the middle of it. Once everything had calmed down, Mourinho went into the referee’s room to voice his complaints to Michael Oliver about the incident when Ander Herrera was booked for going down under a challenge from Nicolas Otamendi in the penalty area.

Mourinho then emerged to do his television interviews and there was no sign of him needing to dry off. He did not make any reference to what had happened during all his media work.

Arteta, meanwhile, was being assessed in the City dressing room after being caught in the crossfire. United’s players are understood to feel like the noise from the away dressing room was provocatively loud and, with the door continually being opened, Mourinho appears to have been asking more respect to be shown to the losing team.

As the confrontation escalated, Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva were caught on the outside looking in, having not been inside the dressing room when it started. However, other City players were clearly incensed by Mourinho’s behaviour and the fact that several players, most notably Lukaku, had become involved. There are always two police officers in the Old Trafford tunnel after games and eventually they helped to restore peace.

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Manchester United and Manchester City will have to contend with snow and sub-zero temperatures — as well as each other — in Sunday’s Premier League title showdown at Old Trafford.

Snow is forecast to fall across northwest England in the hours leading up to kick-off and temperatures are set to drop to -1 degree Celsius (30 Fahrenheit).

While the Old Trafford pitch benefits from under-soil heating, there are concerns about icy conditions outside the ground and the 76,000 fans due to attend have been encouraged to arrive early.

The white-hot rivalry between the clubs means the temperature is guaranteed to rise once the teams take to the field for the 175th Manchester derby.

League leaders City are gunning for a record-equalling 14th successive top-flight win and can put a huge 11 points between themselves and second-place United if they prevail.

But United are seeking to set a record of their own by notching up a 41st home match without defeat and City manager Pep Guardiola is wary of his old foe Jose Mourinho’s ability to roll with the punches.

“Until now we cannot complain in terms of results and especially the way we have played,” said Guardiola, who was the last away manager to win at Old Trafford in September last year.

“When you see in every game the statistics — not just the way we play — we are better in terms of potential goals, possession and chances conceded.

“But I think United are fantastic on that. When the statistics are good they win and when they are not good they are able to win 3-1 (against Arsenal) at the Emirates, one of the most difficult stadiums.

Manchester United are seeking to set a record by notching up a 41st consecutive home match without defeat and Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola (L) is wary of his old foe Jose Mourinho’s (R) ability to roll with the punches

“They conceded 33 shots and they won 3-1. Few teams in the world are able to do that. That’s why you have to be careful. You can control, you can do many things good, but then they have the talent to do that.”

As sublime as City’s football has been since the start of the season, they have had to work much harder for their victories in recent weeks.

– Mourinho lights fuse –

Home-grown midfielder Jesse Lingard, a central figure in Manchester United’s recent run, has plenty of respect for Manchester City, but believes they can be harried out of their stride

United have won their last four games and followed up last weekend’s clinical 3-1 win at Arsenal by beating CSKA Moscow 2-1 on Tuesday to follow City into the Champions League last 16.

Yet recent history favours City, who have won on four of their last six visits to Old Trafford in the league, including an earth-shattering 6-1 victory in October 2011.

Mourinho, typically, has tried to rile Guardiola, questioning his former Barcelona nemesis’s right to wear a yellow ribbon in solidarity with jailed Catalan separatists and accusing City’s players of diving.

“They are a good team. They defend well, they react well to the moment they lose the ball,” said the United manager.

“They have a good dynamic in attack, they have creative movement. They have amazing players, they have a fantastic coach, they have lots of good things.

“If you ask me one thing that I don’t like a lot it’s that they lose their balance very easily. You know, a little bit of wind and they fall.”

City midfielder David Silva has been passed fit after sitting out the trip to Shakhtar with a knock, but Vincent Kompany is a doubt and City are guaranteed to be without John Stones and Benjamin Mendy.

Paul Pogba is United’s major absentee through suspension, which is likely to bring the tigerish Ander Herrera into Mourinho’s midfield.

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