David Moyes had made his way back inside Old Trafford and he was still crying foul.
The Manchester United manager had very nearly shouted himself hoarse on the sidelines after Ashley Young appeared to be caught in the penalty area by Hugo Lloris, only for the Tottenham Hotspur to avoid being sent off. The Frenchman would leave only after his side had secured three points.
That incident had come with some convenience since it allowed Moyes to deflect the attention away from the final result - one which means that United have now surrendered more league points than they did in all of last season. It is a number which will chill the club's supporters, those who had already shivered at the sight of Emmanuel Adebayor and Christian Eriksen scoring twice inside Old Trafford yesterday.
The Spurs pair were successful with headers in either half, before Danny Welbeck pulled a goal back for United. The home side pressed hard for an equaliser during the second half and Moyes would seem bent out of shape afterwards as he considered why referee Howard Webb had denied his side a penalty. Young had burst into the box and was caught by a sliding challenge from Lloris, the United winger landing hard on his shoulder. Webb remained unmoved.
"It was scandalous," said Moyes. "If you follow through on a player anywhere else on the pitch with your foot high, it would be a red card. You couldn't do that anywhere else. The goalkeeper comes out, Ashley Young gets the ball before him and he follows through.
"All I can tell you is that if that [Lloris' challenge on Young] isn't given a penalty kick, I don't think we will get any more in the league this season. It's an incredible decision which didn't go our way; probably one of the worst I think I saw."
Yet the Scot found another which seemed to rival it; Adnan Januzaj booked after going down following a challenge from Danny Rose. "Have you seen that decision? That was a terrible decision," said Moyes.
There had been some uncertainty over the decision to appoint Tim Sherwood as manager of Tottenham, too, although he has now taken 10 points from 12 since replacing Andre Villas-Boas. That is perhaps reward for the new coach's bold attacking philosophy which was again evident as Adebayor partnered Roberto Soldado in attack. "It's different class and we're on the front foot," said Michael Dawson, the Spurs defender. "Tim has done a great job."
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