30 December 2024
Man Utd 0 Newcastle 2
The Ruben Amorim era has not started as everyone had hoped. To be fair, nothing had really changed from performances that saw Erik ten Hag get sacked. Newcastle were the visitors to Old Trafford, a venue that had not proved happy hunting ground for The Magpies. The hosts were hoping that was a good sign for them to take a much-needed three points.
Call it what you want, passion for their own team or delusions of grandeur but Man Utd fans rock up to their games expecting to see a comfortable victory. The same could be said of the visit of Eddie Howe’s side. Sadly for the home faithful, that seems to unravel pretty quickly of late and seems some sort of reoccurring nightmare.
Guimaraes picked the ball up in the middle of the park and spotted Gordon in space on the left flank. He sent an inch-perfect pass to the winger, who killed it dead with his first touch. His cross into the penalty area found Isak, who headed home to silence Old Trafford. It was the perfect start for the visitors, taking the lead after only four minutes.
The marking from the Red Devils was dreadful. With Maguire and Martinez either side of Isak, it was baffling that neither of them saw fit to challenge him for the header. One worrying thing for the Man Utd fans is that they can change the manager but absolutely nothing changes on the pitch. The only obvious solution does not make viable business sense, get rid of the whole squad and start again.
It was embarrassing how easily The Magpies were opening up the hosts. Another ball to Isak saw him run into the box with another gilt-edged chance to score. Despite being so early in the game, it was almost like the Swede was finding it all too easy. Instead of his normal clinical finishing, he tried an elaborate chip over the keeper and got it all wrong.
Mazraoui was having all sorts of problems containing Gordon out wide. The former Toffee was twisting and turning the full-back at will. This time his cross created a Groundhog Day moment, the only difference was that this time it was Joelinton heading past Onana. Old Trafford seemed like a library at this stage.
You wonder what goes on at the training ground at Carrington. These over-paid defenders were constantly looking like Sunday league pub players. No awareness of the players around them, ball-watching all of the time and blaming each other whenever they concede a goal. The only baffling thing now though is that so many people pay to watch this dross every week.
They say that doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results is the definition of insanity. If that is true, Man Utd are currently a conveyor belt for the Arkham Asylum. It has been the case ever since the Ferguson era ended and you start to wonder whether this will ever change or whether this is now their place in life.
The Magpies should have had a third as they waltzed through the Red Devils’ defence once again. The ball broke to Tonali in the box but he toe-poked his effort against the post and back into play. While Eddie Howe will have been overjoyed with his side’s first-half performance they were still proving very wasteful in front of goal.
Towards the end of the half, Hojlund found some space in the box but sliced his effort wide of the target. The Dane is still young and has plenty of football in front of him but leading the line for Man Utd right now is not for him. He is about as clinical as an aromatherapist. It is just not working for the Red Devils in the final third.
Schar then played a dreadful pass to give the ball away on the edge of his own box. It was worked into Casemiro with all the time and space in the world. The Brazilian opted to take the chance on first-time but steered it well wide of the far post. The home fans were being driven to the bottle by what their team were doing out on the pitch.
Amad then did well out on the left and picked out Dalot in the middle with his cross. The defender’s header was almost perfect but came crashing back off the woodwork. When your luck is not with you, it doesn’t rain, it pours. It was a warning to The Magpies that all it would take was a goal for the hosts and this game was back in the balance.
The hosts then forced a corner and Yoro met it at the near post. His header went well wide of the far post and it seemed like he should have done better. Despite all their efforts to pile on the pressure, Newcastle were coping all too easily. Not that it was any of their own doing. Just the wasteful nature of Ruben Amorim’s side.
Newcastle took all three points and moved up to fifth in the table. They are now within touching distance of the top four and their form over the festive period has changed their season. As for Man Utd, they are now languishing in fourteenth place in table and more worryingly, are now only seven points off the relegation places themselves.
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