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As well-executed as it was, the short-corner routine that gave Manchester United the lead really should not be working against professional defences. It looked clever because it produced a goal, of course. It was fairly basic stuff, though, that was successful mainly because Spursplayers somehow failed to see it coming or react.

But those Spurs players were not the first - and won’t be the last - to be fooled by the excellence of Kobbie Mainoo. Somehow, they did not notice Mainoo nipping away from the front post to receive the kick before reversing a pass to Bryan Mbeumo that the United forward scuffed past Guglielmo Vicario.

And that is Mainoo. So much of what he does well goes unnoticed. There is nothing flashy. He is undemonstrative.

There is no finger-pointing, no arm-waving. He is no shrinking violet but he tends not to get involved in many spats.

Among those who did not notice Mainoo’s strengths was Ruben Amorim. Either it was one of those inexplicable blind spots that a manager can have or Amorim saw something that he didn’t quite like.

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Because Mainoo would give midfield balance to any elite team. Reinstated to the team, Mainoo has been quietly efficient in Michael Carrick’s perfect four-game run.

And what Carrick sees is the perfect combination of a 20-year-old still on a learning curve yet one already with invaluable experiences in his locker. Don’t forget, Mainoo started a European Championship final. He scored a goal in an FA Cup final.

“There’s definitely more to come from him but he also has so much experience under his belt,” says Carrick. “He has experience of big occasions, big games, of pressurised situations. He's having a really big impact on games and we'll keep working with him and helping him, try and keep improving him as well as we go along.”

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While the likes of Bruno Fernandes has been outstanding in United’s resurgence, the midfield combination of Mainoo and Casemiro has been at the heart of the revival. The pair have been outstanding.

“That is going to help him develop,” Carrick explains. “Playing next to Case, learning from him, learning things he’s probably not even realising he is picking up. I think that is just part of his journey to learn and develop.

“He's at the stage he's at in his career when he's just starting out, essentially. But he’s come in, he's played four games, and he's found his rhythm.”

And in only four games - the latest win courtesy of the Mbeumo goal and a late Fernandes effort, both after Cristian Romero’s first-half, game-changing red card - Carrick has already made a compelling case to be given the long-term manager’s job. Quite simply, he has transformed the mood at the club.

He says: “I think we have just come in with our beliefs, how we see things, principles, and asking the players to do certain things and behave in a certain way. And it's difficult to comment in terms of what's changed. I'm pleased with the buy-in, with the connection. Everyone's invested in it. I think that goes a long way.

“The game can flow in different ways and you can look very different, good or bad, but I think being in a really good emotional place helps you.”

And right now, under Carrick, everyone at Old Trafford is certainly in a really good emotional place. Particularly Kobbie Mainoo.

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