The Magpies are in pole position for a Champions League berth now. Newcastle utterly dominated a really poor Man United side as they easily won 2-0, pushing them above United into 3rd in the Premier League.
That was a ruthless takedown if I’ve ever seen one.
Newcastle must have figured out during the international break that their chances of qualifying for the Champions League for the first time in 20 years (2002/03 season) as they completely dominated Man United. I know I’ve said this a few times already, but there’s really no better descriptor for Newcastle’s magnificent performance.
Sure, Man United was missing Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in the midfield, but that’s no excuse for a team that has aspirations to win the Premier League and the Champions League.
Despite being out possessed (Man United 54% vs. Newcastle’s 46%), Newcastle’s midfield of Bruno Guimarães, Joe Willock, and Sean Longstaff completely controlled the midfield from the first minute of the game to the last minute as United’s midfield of Burno Fernandes, Scott McTominay, and Marcel Sabitzer barely touched the ball in the Newcastle half.
Seriously, even though Man United finished the game with 54% possession and had more passes (404 passes vs. 344), the vast majority of those were either side-to-side or backwards passes away from the Newcastle net. Whenever Man United did make an attack, Newcastle’s backline of Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman, and Dan Burns shut up shop, kept the wingers to the outside, and isolated Wout Weghorst up front.
And, when Newcastle’s defense was able to break up the United attacks, which they did often, they’d spring forth a killer breakout pass that’d set up a devastating counter attacks and huge chances on David de Gea’s net.
To be honest, even though de Gea let in two goals, he was easily the best player for United on the pitch as he came up with massive stops on Alexander Isak, Joe Willock, and Joelinton (which was one of the saves of the season), while another 3-4 Newcastle chances narrowly missed ending up in the back of his net.
If Newcastle had slightly better/more clinical forwards, this would have been yet another 6-0 drubbing for United as they were that bad. But that’s nothing new for these United players as they really love to get humiliated, right?
As for the two goals Newcastle scored, they were masterclasses in why having big, tall, and strong forwards and defenders in one’s lineup is a must. Both goals came from crosses into the box as Joe Willock headed home the game winning goal from a Bruno Guimarães cross between Raphael Varane and Diogo Dalot, while Callum Wilson killed off the game in the 88th minute by outjumping and outmuscling Victor Lindelof on a corner.
For some reason, this United team has a terrible tendency to show very little fight or passion when you’d least expect it, such as this game they only had 6 total shots and just 1 shot on target in 95 minutes. Just 1 shot on target with offensive talents like Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford, Antony, Jadon Sancho, and Anthony Martial all playing today? Did these United players bet with Ivan Toney against Man United winning?
I don’t want to take away from these Newcastle players’ performances as they were sensational, but there’s something seriously wrong about the core of this United side. After winning the Carabao Cup against this very same Newcastle team a little over a month ago, Manchester United have now lost twice (Liverpool, Newcastle) and drawn once in the league (Southampton) to fall from a comfortable 3rd place in the league to barley clinging onto 4th place.
Clearly, I was far too kind to these players after that Carabao Cup win as they’ve retorted right back into the same lethargic, lackadaisical nonsense that got Louis Van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, and Ralf Rangnick fired. Are they ever going to learn getting resoundingly beaten isn’t a good thing?
Nonetheless, I still believe United (4th place; 50 PTS) will pip one of the two Champions League spots as they only have to face two (Brighton: May 4th, Tottenham: April 27th) of the Top-6 teams in their final 11 games of the season.
Reversely, I now wholeheartedly believe Newcastle will fend off the traditional Top-6 challengers in Liverpool and Spurs, while also beating off the likes of Brighton and Brentford, for one of the two Champions League places as they not only have the best defense in the league (only 19 GA), but they also have the momentum to maintain their lead.
What a time it is to be a Geordie.
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