If Manchester United want to know what a well-structured performance looks like, they should rewatch Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 victory at Old Trafford. Against a lifeless press and non-existent cover on the transition, Spurs ripped Erik ten Hag’s side to shreds.

The rotations in Ange Postecoglou’s midfield proved too much for United’s organisation without the ball, while a focus on attacking the wide areas cut through United repeatedly.

In possession, the rotations between Tottenham’s midfielders and full-backs stretched United’s 4-4-2…

… and created gaps in the midfield line that were exploited by the dropping Dominic Solanke or the other central players.

Here, Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro’s switch creates a gap between Marcus Rashford and Kobbie Mainoo as they exchange their markers, and Solanke drops to offer Cristian Romero a passing option through that space.

As Romero plays the pass to Solanke, Kulusevski starts moving forward…

… to offer a progressive option to his striker, with Brennan Johnson pinning United’s left-back, Diogo Dalot.

Solanke flicks the ball towards Johnson…

… and Kulusevski’s third-man run is found by the right-winger. Tottenham’s attack down the right side attracts Manuel Ugarte, which means that James Maddison is free on the other side because United’s right-back, Noussair Mazraoui, has Timo Werner (out of shot) to worry about.

As a result, Kulusevski switches the play to Maddison, with Ugarte dragged to the other side.

In another example, Kulusevski and Solanke are initially marked by Mainoo and Lisandro Martinez. The Tottenham centre-forward drops to offer himself as a passing option…

… and Kulusevski dashes forward, forcing Martinez and Mainoo to switch markers as Destiny Udogie is occupying Ugarte.

Again, the moment Tottenham progress the ball is when they switch their positions, so they can catch out United while exchanging their markers. However, Solanke returns the ball to Romero because there is no passing option.

As Romero plays the ball wide to Porro, Solanke attacks the space behind Mainoo. Meanwhile, Kulusevski drags Martinez deeper and Ugarte has to mark Udogie…

… which means United can’t cover the space behind Mainoo when Porro’s pass finds Solanke. The centre-forward then plays the ball to Johnson down the right wing…

… and by the time Ugarte moves across to support, the Wales forward plays it back to Rodrigo Bentancur, who finds Maddison in space.

Maddison then switches the ball to the other side, before combining with Kulusevski to nearly double Tottenham’s lead.

Tottenham’s movement in the central zones kept stretching United’s out-of-possession structure. Here, Mainoo and Ugarte are initially marking Kulusevski and Maddison…

… but when Spurs move the ball towards their right side, the Uruguay midfielder moves across to cover for Mainoo. Ugarte’s shift means Alejandro Garnacho cannot commit to closing down Micky van de Ven because of the narrow positioning of Maddison and Udogie (out of shot).

Romero plays the ball back to Guglielmo Vicario…

… and when the goalkeeper passes it to Van de Ven, Garnacho is late to the press.

With Ugarte moving up to mark Maddison and Mazraoui pinned by Werner down the left wing, Van de Ven comfortably finds Udogie in space.

The dominoes then fall with the right side of United’s defence late to press Udogie and Werner, which allows them to combine down the left wing, before the left-back finds Kulusevski in front of the penalty area and Johnson hits the post.

Furthermore, Tottenham’s full-backs and Bentancur positioned themselves smartly to defend the transition in case United won the ball back.

Here, Udogie finds Werner down the left wing after Tottenham play through United’s block, and Bentancur moves towards that side to cover.

Bentancur’s positioning offers a safety net for Tottenham’s left side. When Werner’s cutback doesn’t find Udogie’s run inside the penalty area and United start their attacking transition…

… Van de Ven and Romero can aggressively defend the central space and the right side because Bentancur is tracking Garnacho’s movement.

In another example, Porro and Bentancur drop deeper while Tottenham are still attacking in the aftermath of a set piece.

When the attack fails and United are looking to strike on the counter-attack, Postecoglou’s side are in a position to defend three different lanes with Bentancur’s positioning enabling Udogie to defend the central space.

Tottenham’s ability to defend United’s transitions also allowed them to create their own in the other direction. Due to United’s gung-ho approach when counter-attacking, they are always vulnerable when it is reversed.

In this example, Udogie’s narrow positioning allows him to recover when United win the ball in midfield and attack the vacated space.

Van de Ven moves across to defend Udogie’s position and the left-back complements that by dropping into the central space…

… which allows him to intercept Garnacho’s pass toward Joshua Zirkzee and reverse the transition.

Tottenham’s transition in the other direction finds Kulusevski, who puts Werner through on goal…

… but Werner shoots straight at Andre Onana.

In the build-up to Tottenham’s first goal, Udogie is in position to track Garnacho in case the ball is lost.

When United win the ball back and start the attacking transition…

… the left-back is in position to defend against Garnacho while Van de Ven and Romero are defending the other spaces. Fernandes tries to find Garnacho’s run…

… but Udogie’s presence forces the right-winger to play it backwards towards Rashford. Meanwhile, Bentancur is dropping to support the defence…

… which allows Van de Ven to sprint and beat Rashford to the ball — in case Van de Ven is late, Bentancur is already dropping to cover for him.

Tottenham reverse the transition in the other direction and Van de Ven surges through an unorganised United defence, before finding Johnson towards the far post…

… and the Wales forward scores into an empty net.

“We knew that the main threat that Manchester United have is on the transition — they are pretty lethal with the front guys they have got,” said Postecoglou after the game.

“We wanted to make sure we kind of locked them in today and that was the full-backs, and particularly Maddison and Kulusevski to be really disciplined in their football.”

(Catherine Ivill – AMA/Getty Images)

On the ball, Tottenham’s rotations in midfield allowed them to play through United’s block, while their positioning protected them on the defensive transition, from which they could counter in the other direction.

A well-constructed plan and perfect execution from Tottenham — something that can’t be said of Ten Hag’s side in the last year.

If Andrew Friedman donned a white coat and protective goggles and went into a lab to create the perfect position-playing depth piece for the Dodgers, he would walk out with Tommy Edman.

The team’s president of baseball operations has long placed a premium on versatility, and Edman is a Swiss Army Knife of a utility man, one who can play three outfield and three infield positions and excels at the all-important up-the-middle spots — shortstop, second base and center field.

In addition to his defensive dexterity, Edman, 29, is a switch-hitter who has historically been equally productive from both sides of the plate, giving manager Dave Roberts maximum flexibility for daily lineup decisions and in-game moves.

“To be able to play so many different positions and do so at such a high level, with the switch-hitting ability, the contact skills, the foot speed … there are just so many aspects that can help you win a game,” Friedman said. “He’s a guy who has been on our radar a long time.”

That’s why the Dodgers jumped at the chance to acquire Edman from St. Louis at the trade deadline despite the fact that Edman, part of a three-team deal that also netted closer Michael Kopech from the Chicago White Sox, had yet to play a game in 2024 because of offseason wrist surgery and an ankle sprain.

The Dodgers have two versatile utility men in Kiké Hernández and Chris Taylor, but both bat right-handed, and neither is as proficient in the middle infield as Edman, who won a Gold Glove Award at second base for the Cardinals in 2021 and accumulated 10 outs above average at shortstop in 2022, tied for fourth among big leaguers at the position.

Edman didn’t play his first game for the Dodgers until Aug. 19, but he quickly emerged as a key contributor during the team’s run to the National League West title and baseball’s best record, batting .237 with a .711 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, six homers and 20 RBIs in 37 games.

Edman, who hit four homers in a two-game span against the Chicago Cubs on Sept. 10-11, including one from each side of the plate in the latter game, has started 22 games in center field and 13 at shortstop, allowing the Dodgers to pace veteran shortstop Miguel Rojas, who has been slowed by a left-adductor strain.

Four times, Edman has moved from center field to shortstop during a game with no discernable drop-off defensively. He moved from shortstop to center field once.

“It’s really tough,” Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel said of the transition. “You’ve got to throw with a long arm, where you really get out in front of it, from the outfield, whereas in the infield, your throws are short and quick, you have to turn double plays and go into the six-hole.

“And depth perception is a challenge. You’re going from a 100-mph groundball hit to you on the dirt to center field, where balls are slicing, they have backspin or top spin. It’s a big adjustment, and it takes a special player, an elite defender, to bounce between center field and shortstop. He does it with a plus glove.”

The 5-foot-10, 193-pound Edman, in the first year of a two-year, $16.5-million contract that runs through 2025, is more of a complementary piece than an impact bat — he’ll hit seventh or eighth when the Dodgers open the NL Division Series on Saturday, and he won’t be expected to carry the offense.

Edman’s splits in a small sample size this season were more extreme. He hit .181 (18 for 105) with a .523 OPS from the left side and .412 (14 for 34) with a 1.299 OPS from the right side but has a career .256 average and .689 OPS in 1,757 at-bats from the left side and a .284 average and .831 OPS in 609 at-bats from the right side.

He also closed the regular season in a two-for-30 slump (.067) that dropped him from the .284 average and .824 OPS he sported on Sept. 19.

But if Edman can heat up at the plate in October, he would add considerable length to the playoff lineup, an added bonus to the many intangibles he brings on offense and defense.

“When we made the trade, I got a call from Albert Pujols, and he said you’re going to love this guy because he’s a baseball player,” Ebel said, referring to the former Angels and Dodgers slugger who played with Edman in St. Louis in 2022. “He can hit from both sides of the plate, he’s shown some power, he can play short, second and center field.

“He’s fundamentally sound, he makes the routine play, he knows how to run the bases, he can bunt, he can hit-and-run, and he’s got the talent to be on a championship-caliber team and to win a World Series.”

This did not happen by accident.

There were three defining moments in Edman’s life that convinced his father, John, now in his 25th year as La Jolla Country Day School’s baseball coach, that his son might have what it takes to excel at the youth-league level, play major college ball and reach the big leagues.

The first was in the spring of 1998, when John Edman was a graduate assistant coach at Michigan and the Wolverines traveled to Notre Dame for an NCAA regional with toddler Tommy in tow.

“We were playing Wiffle ball on campus under Touchdown Jesus, and he squared a ball up right off my forehead,” John Edman, 53, said. “The ball has those little holes, so the rest of the weekend, I had a Wiffle ball mark on my forehead. It was one of those experiences that you never forget. He had a pretty decent swing for a little 3-year-old.”

The second light-bulb moment was in the spring of 2011, when Tommy, then a 5-foot-9, 150-pound sophomore at La Jolla Country Day, led off the CIF San Diego section Division 4 championship game at San Diego State with a home run over the 365-foot sign in left-center field.

Tommy Edman playing for La Jolla Country Day School.

(Courtesy of Edman family)

“I didn’t think too much of it, but the next thing I know, San Diego State brought him in for a visit, and [then-coach] Tony Gwynn offered him a scholarship right after his sophomore year,” John said. “I guess that’s the first time I had more of an outsider’s perspective on what [Tommy] was like as a ballplayer.”

The third came in the winter after the 2018 season, which Edman, a sixth-round pick of the Cardinals out of Stanford in 2016, spent at double-A Springfield (Mo.) and triple-A Memphis.

“It was the year before he got his first big-league call-up in 2019, I was throwing batting practice to him in the offseason, and he just looked different,” John Edman said. “All of a sudden, he was hitting for some power. I remember telling my wife, ‘I think he’s got a shot.’ He was playing well in the minor leagues, but something seemed like it clicked.”

A can’t-miss prospect or bonus baby, Edman was not. He had a solid, but not spectacular, three-year career at Stanford, batting .281 with a .726 OPS, four homers, 31 doubles and 71 RBIs in 168 games. He signed with the Cardinals for $236,400, the exact slot value assigned to his pick and not a penny more.

But as he rose through the Cardinals’ system and eventually established himself as a big leaguer, Edman developed a reputation for being fundamentally sound, versatile and polished on both sides of the ball, a player who didn’t wow you with eye-popping tools but did everything extremely well.

Growing up the son of a high school coach clearly rubbed off on him.

“I learned a lot about the game at a pretty young age, and I was always around my father’s high school teams, whether I was just shagging balls in the outfield or just watching his games,” Edman said. “So I think I learned about the game pretty early.

Tommy Edman, center, played baseball at Stanford. Standing with him on his graduation day are, from left, his father John Edman; his mother, Maureen; his sister, Elise; and his wife, Kristen.

(Courtesy of Edman family)

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“[My father] has a great baseball mind. He taught me a lot of things. He was always willing to help me work, to hit groundballs and to throw me batting practice.”

When Tommy was 10 years old, John and his brother-in-law built a batting cage in the backyard of the family home in the Tierrasanta section of San Diego, commissioning a local company to cut steel pipes to size, ordering aircraft cable and netting from a batting-cage company, digging holes manually and pouring concrete for the footings.

“It wasn’t a fancy design, by any means,” said John Edman, who is also a math teacher at his school. “I talked to a bunch of people and figured out how to do it.”

The cage remained in the yard until Tommy headed off to the minor leagues in 2016.

“If Tommy wanted to hit for 15 minutes to build some confidence, blow off steam or take a break from his homework, he could just go outside and do it,” John said. “It was so much more convenient than having to go to the field every time you want to hit.”

Tommy wasn’t the only Edman to go into the family business. His older brother, Johnny, works as a data engineer and an independent-league scout for the Minnesota Twins, and his younger sister, Elise, worked as a data engineer for the Cardinals for two years before moving to a private sector job.

But Tommy is the one who benefited most from his father’s guidance, combining his own talent, work ethic and coach-on-the-field instincts to develop into the well-rounded player he is today.

“I think it’s just playing the game the right way, always playing hard and making the smart decisions on the field, whether that’s base-running or defense, just having a good baseball IQ,” Edman said, when asked how his father influenced his development. “It’s trying to always do the right thing on the field.”

Those attributes are among the many Edman qualities the Dodgers were enamored with from afar and are now counting on to help push the team through October.

“It’s very cool to be valued by one of the greatest organizations in baseball, and now, looking at it, I kind of see how it makes sense, knowing the versatility I have and how the Dodgers prioritize versatility,” Edman said. “It’s been fun. I feel like I fit in well here. And hopefully I’ll continue to contribute at the level that I’ve been.”

Editor’s note: The Athletic 134 is a weekly ranking of all FBS college football teams.

“You could not live with your own failure. Where did that bring you? Back to me.”

When Nick Saban retired, many wondered whether Alabama would take a step back. It had to, right? The greatest coach in the history of the sport was gone. Surely the days of the Alabama dynasty had finally ended. Georgia had emerged as the new Alabama.

But like Thanos, Bama may be inevitable. After a 41-34 win against Georgia, the Tide have returned to the No. 1 spot in the Athletic 134 rankings.

It’s Alabama’s first time atop these rankings since the 2022 preseason. That year, Georgia took over one week in after plastering Oregon, and the Tide haven’t been back to No. 1 since then.

But it turns out when you let head coach Kalen DeBoer scheme up some stuff for elite-level talent, he can do a lot. Jalen Milroe looks like the best quarterback in the country. After the wild swings of the Game of the Year, I don’t exactly know how to feel about both teams. Alabama had a 28-0 lead and also blew a 28-0 lead. Georgia overcame that deficit on the road. But in the end, it’s the best win of the season for any team, so Alabama moves up from No. 7 to No. 1.

Georgia falls to No. 3, and not solely because of this result. The Week 1 blowout of Clemson looks better with each week. The Bulldogs’ schedule doesn’t get easier, however, with a trip to No. 2 Texas just a few weeks away.

Here is the latest edition of The Athletic 134.

1-10

I’m aware the SEC has the top four spots here. I don’t expect that to be the case by the end of the season. But so far, Alabama beat Georgia, Texas beat Michigan, Georgia beat Clemson and Tennessee beat NC State and Oklahoma. So that’s how it is right now. Ohio State’s big games are coming up, and the Buckeyes will move up if they win.

Miami slips to No. 8 after needing an overturned Hail Mary to beat Virginia Tech, and Penn State beat a ranked Illinois team to move up to No. 7. I don’t think the ceiling is very high for Michigan after it held on to beat Minnesota, but the Wolverines’ win against USC last week means they’re going to stay around here until something changes.

GO DEEPER

Stewart Mandel’s 12-team Playoff projections after Week 5

11-25

BYU jumps up to No. 12 after beating Baylor, but its earlier win against SMU continues to look better after the Mustangs moved to 4-1 with a 42-16 beatdown of Florida State. (Last weekend’s K-State win looks better, too). Clemson is up to No. 13 and still rolling since Week 1 after a 40-14 win against Stanford.

Utah drops from No. 9 to No. 17 after a 23-10 loss to Arizona. It’s really hard to place the Utes because we don’t know when (or if) injured quarterback Cam Rising will come back. Notre Dame inches up to No. 18 after beating Louisville. The loss to Northern Illinois continues to look worse, but the wins against Louisville and Texas A&M help. Indiana continues to roll, up to No. 19 after a 42-28 win against Maryland.

Ole Miss drops from No. 5 to No. 20 after a 20-17 loss to Kentucky. The Rebels just don’t have any good wins to offset the loss and make a case for a higher ranking. They’ve beaten Furman, Middle Tennessee, Wake Forest and Georgia Southern. Oklahoma is back into the top 25 after a comeback win at Auburn. Undefeated UNLV is back in after beating Fresno State 59-14, and Boise State enters the top 25 after beating Washington State 45-24.

GO DEEPER

Vannini: Alabama-Georgia didn’t have stakes because of the CFP? Think again

26-50

Texas A&M’s win against Arkansas moves the Aggies up to No. 29. Navy’s 41-18 win at UAB slides the Midshipmen up to No. 31. Rutgers moves up to No. 32 after beating Washington on Friday night, and Arizona is up to No. 33 after the win against Utah. It’s Arizona’s 31-7 loss to Kansas State a few weeks back that keeps the Wildcats from being higher for now.

Oklahoma State tumbles from No. 20 to No. 37 after a 42-20 loss to K-State. The Cowboys are 0-2 in Big 12 play and needed a late comeback to beat Arkansas. Kentucky’s win against Ole Miss moves the Wildcats up to No. 39, but Week 2’s blowout loss to South Carolina keeps the Wildcats behind the Gamecocks for now.

Colorado jumps from No. 67 to No. 44 after a 48-21 win at UCF, easily the most impressive performance of the Deion Sanders era.

GO DEEPER

Mandel’s Final Thoughts: Don’t blink! Bama-Georgia just another NIL-era classic

51-75

No. 55 NIU is now 0-2 since its Notre Dame upset, but the Huskies stayed close in a 24-17 loss to NC State, which moves up to No. 54. Virginia Tech actually ticks up two spots to No. 56 after its overturned Hail Mary loss to Miami, given the nature of that finish. Army is 4-0 and up to No. 62 after its third consecutive win against an Owls team (FAU, Rice, Temple).

Sam Houston jumps from No. 91 to No. 68 after a 40-39 win against Texas State to move to 4-1. Since an 0-8 start as an FBS program last year, the Bearkats are 7-2 in their last nine games.

76-100

Kansas drops to No. 80 after falling to 1-4. The Jayhawks entered the weekend with three consecutive one-score losses, but their latest setback was a 38-27 loss to TCU. Florida State tumbles again down to No. 81 after a blowout loss at SMU.

Louisiana moves up to No. 84 after beating Wake Forest, which drops to No. 88. UConn makes a big jump up to No. 86 after a dominant 47-3 win against Buffalo. The Huskies are definitely trending up over the last three weeks. Georgia State drops out of the top 50 to No. 85 after losing to Georgia Southern, dampening the value of the win against Vanderbilt. USF may be beat up after a tough nonconference schedule, dropping to No. 87 after a 45-10 loss to Tulane.

East Carolina beat UTSA 30-20 to move up to No. 92. Purdue and Mississippi State kept it close with Nebraska and Texas, respectively, in the first half, but they remain the lowest-ranked Power 4 teams at No. 98 and No. 99. Purdue fired offensive coordinator Graham Harrell on Sunday.

GO DEEPER

College Football Playoff 2024 projections: Alabama rising, Notre Dame back in bracket

101-134

ULM is up to No. 101, now 3-1 after beating Troy. That’s already an improvement on last season’s 2-10 record for first-year coach Bryant Vincent. Bowling Green competed well with Penn State and Texas A&M but drops to No. 105 after losing to previously winless Old Dominion. Wyoming also got its first win of the season, over Air Force, to move up to No. 119, while Air Force drops to No. 120 with Navy coming up next.

San Diego State falls to No. 112 after a last-second field goal loss to Central Michigan. Charlotte beat Rice in a wild finish to move to 2-3 and get up to No. 124.

We’re down to just three winless teams, and they make up the bottom three. They also each have losses to FCS programs, after Kennesaw State lost 24-13 to UT Martin. Kent State remains at No. 134. The Golden Flashes played Eastern Michigan close in the box score, but four turnovers led to a 52-33 loss.

The Athletic 134 series is part of a partnership with Allstate. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

(Photo: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images)