Newcastle take third place from Man Utd
Although unbeaten in the last four matches, including three victories, many people predict that Man Utd needs luck to win points against Newcastle. 90 minutes at St James' Park proves that statement. The home team dominated with 15 shots, including six on target. And Man Utd only finished four times, with only one shot on goal from Antony.
Newcastle played on foot from the very beginning. Their plays on the ball are more diverse and potentially dangerous from the flanks. If the finish was better, Eddie Howe's teachers and students would soon have a table when the Man Utd defense played like a dream. The only bright spot on the visitors side was goalkeeper David De Gea, who still performed spectacular saves.
The most significant were two consecutive saves in the 15th minute, when De Gea continuously blocked two close-range shots of Alexander Isak and Joseph Willock. At the end of the first half, Newcastle continued to miss a tenth chance. This time, De Gea did not have time to react, but Willock's left shot from close range narrowly went over the bar.
The phases of the visitors' ball are relatively sporadic. Erik ten Hag pushed Scott McTominay up to take advantage of the midfielder's form, who had just scored four goals in two games for Scotland, while also dragging Bruno Fernandes low to make the ball, extinguishing Casemiro's absence. . However, the plan was not very effective because McTominay and Wout Weghorst were both quite clumsy. Their enthusiasm only helped Man Utd defend better from afar, as the situation opened the door for Weghorst to miss the post early in the game.
The situation after the break did not change much, despite the correction in the attack of Ten Hag. On the contrary, the more Newcastle played the better and the opening goal came to the home team as a matter of course. Isak poked a gap to let Bruno Guimaraes cross down the right flank. The midfielder crossed to the far post for Allan Saint-Maximin to head the ball, putting Willock in too favorable a position to score.
The goal did not make Man Utd wake up to get out of the sluggish game day. Even if there is no luck, the "Red Devils" can leave with a big defeat. In the 77th minute, Man Utd's goal continued to shake when Joelinton's close-range header forced De Gea to push the ball over the bar. Fabian Schar's header then bounced the ball back into the post.
Anthony Martial marked his comeback after two months of injury when he played the last 28 minutes of the game. The French striker made a few good moves, for example, he managed and failed to finish in the 82nd minute. But that was not enough to help Man Utd equalize. In the 88th minute, the visitors' hopes of having a point went up in smoke when substitute striker Callum Wilson beat Victor Lindelof in the air-fight, before hitting the header to keep De Gea stuck.
This goal was the result of the minutes Man Utd played all the time. Ten Hag withdrew the main central defenders Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane from the field to support the attack but failed. His decision seemed to displease Martinez. After this defeat, Man Utd has the same 50 points after 27 matches as Newcastle but is ranked below due to a poor goal difference. Man Utd will host Brentford in the next match on the evening of April 5 and Newcastle will be a guest at West Ham.
