A virtuoso performance from Juan Mata and United saw the Reds move to within two points of second placed City as Louis van Gaal's side stormed to victory over Spurs on Sunday.
This was the best we have played all season, a high tempo display of pace, verve, style and attacking intent that yielded a 3-0 lead at the interval through goals from Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney.
Man of the match Mata was back in the United XI in place of the suspended Angel Di Maria and the Spaniard delivered an outstanding individual performance that earned him a prolonged standing ovation when he was substituted late on.
The Reds started on the front foot and went ahead in the ninth minute when the returning Carrick played in the excellent Fellaini, who scored with a clinical left-footed finish across Spurs stopper Hugo Lloris.
Having set up the opener, Carrick added the second himself when Spurs failed to deal with Fellaini's aerial power from a corner and the former Tottenham man reacted quickly to steer home his header.
The visitors manager Mauricio Pochettino made a tactical switch on the half hour when he introduced Moussa Dembele in a desperate attempt to stem the tide, but there was no stopping the Reds who surged 3-0 ahead in the 34th minute.
Nabil Bentaleb inexplicably gifted a pass to Rooney, who was almost ushered towards goal by a succession of Spurs defenders before he slotted past Lloris with ease.
The skipper's celebration added a touch of charisma to proceedings, as he threw fake punches in the direction of the jubilant fans before collapsing dramatically to the floor in mock response to the online boxing footage.
With the game won in style, the second half resembled little more than a testimonial, with Spurs happy to embark on a damage limitation exercise.
Ander Herrera fired into the side netting and Harry Kane finally had a shot when his effort was easily fielded by David De Gea in the final minute.
With a massively important win signed, sealed and delivered, Louis van Gaal handed a Premier League debut to 19-year old Andreas Pereira as United go in to next weekend's showdown with Liverpool with confidence and swagger.
United Faithful Man of the Match: Everyone excelled but this week it has to go to Juan Mata. Different class with his energy and industry in the Reds engine room.
Overall team performance: 9/10
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