Manchester United vs Newcastle United Player Ratings – Newcastle hit twice as the Red Devils woeful run continues

Manchester United’s horrid run of form continues as they lose 2-0 at home to Newcastle United, thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton. This was Newcastle United’s fourth-consecutive win and fourth-consecutive Premier League clean sheet, and sit fifth on the table just five points away from second place. This was third-consecutive defeat in the league for Amorim’s men, who slid to 14th place and are just seven points above relegation zone.

Newcastle United name an unchanged XI from the side that beat Aston Villa on Boxing Day but Manchester United make four alterations from the side that lost to Wolves four days ago. Newcastle did not take long to get things going, Guimaraes’ switch of play out to the left finds Gordon all alone, who scooped a half-volleyed cross to the edge of the six-yard box for Isak, who leaped to nod his finish into the ground. The same routine was tried again, but with different players as Gordon supplied Joelinton to double the lead. The Magpies also tried to score Olimpicos, when Trippier tried to score directly from a corner-kick, a tactic used by teams in the last week which beared fruit twice. Things turned sour when United’s Zirkzee was jeered off by his own supporters as he got subbed off in the first half itself.

The second half was not a classic. But that was totally on Manchester United who struggled put serious pressure on Newcastle. The hosts have avoided the sloppiness of the latter exchanges of the first half and just about done enough to have the situation under control, despite the hosts who took more shots than them. Amorim tried to make things happen with his substitutions but they were not able to make an impact. While United could have scored at least once via Yoro and Maguire’s headers, the overall performance from them was shocking.

Manchester United Player Ratings vs Newcastle United

Goalkeeper

Onana: 5/10 – A bad outing for him as he scrambled across in panic in few situations and ended up conceding twice.

Defenders

de Ligt: 5.5/10 – The Dutch centreback is still finding his feet in his new club and tonight he looked more average than his previous self.

Maguire: 6.5/10 – He had the best game amongst all the defenders and tried to score a goal via his headers to bring his team back into the game.

Martinez: 5/10 – The captain was disappointing tonight and got subbed off in the second half when he was on a yellow card.

Mazraoui: 6/10 – He was very slow to keep up with Gordon, which helped the visitors establish dominance in attack.

Dalot: 6/10 – He got toyed with by the opposition attackers in defence, but was okayish on the attack.

Midfielders

Casemiro: 6.5/10 – The midfielder was constantly involved in the game and should have been on the scoresheet.

Eriksen: 6/10 – The attacking midfielder started tonight as Bruno Fernandes got sent off in the game before. He was unable to catch up with the physicality of the visitor’s midfield.

Forwards

Amad: 5/10 – He was almost invisible tonight, making zero contributions to the attack, which is unlike him.

Hojlund: 5/10 – The young striker adds another average display into his shelf. He got chances especially in the first half when he was played in on goal almost immediately, but he fluffed it.

Zirkzee: 3/10 – The Dutch forward was subbed off early in the first half itself, as fans jeered him off. A truly sad thing to see for a young player who was coming off from an incredible season in Italy.

Substitutes

Mainoo: 7/10

Yoro: 5.5/10

Garnacho: 5.5/10

Antony: NA

Manager

Ruben Amorim: 5/10 – Another bad result for the new manager, who was dealt with a bad hand as two of his best midfielders were unavailable tonight. He tried to make changes after the team was trailing, but to no avail.

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Newcastle United Player Ratings vs Manchester United

Goalkeeper

Dubravka: 6.5/10 – A routine display for the backup goalkeeper, who did his best to keep the cleansheet.

Defenders

Trippier: 6.5/10 – The fullback tried to score Olimpicos like his previous opponents, but to no avail. He got injured unfortunately which led to a substitution early in the second half.

Schar: 5.5/10 – He made a sloppy pass in the first half, which could have helped the hosts cut the deficit. He got booked in the second half and will miss the next game vs Tottenham.

Burn: 7.5/10 – A fantastic defensive display from the veteran, winning duels and clearing out any dangerous attacks.

Hall: 7.5/10 – He was completely involved in the attacking patterns, showed the value of having a left-footer on the left wing as he ended up with an assist.

Midfielders

Tonali: 6.5/10 – An average outing for the Italian, who could have been on the scoresheet tonight.

Joelinton: 8/10 – He headed a goal from close range to double the lead and physically dominated the United’s midfield.

Guimaraes: 8/10 – Another classy display for Guimaraes, embarrassing Manchester United’s static midfield, playing one-twos to pass through them.

Forwards

Murphy: 6.5/10 – A routine day in the office for Murphy, who kept things tight and tried to create chances.

Isak: 9/10 – Another striker masterclass for Isak, who scored within a few minutes and was a constant threat throughout the game. He should have ended up with more than a single goal tonight.

Gordon: 8/10 – An energetic display from the winger, who ran tirelessly and got rewarded with an assist when he put in a excellent cross for the second goal.

Substitutes

Livramento: 6/10

Willock: NA

Barnes: NA

Manager

Eddie Howe: 8/10 – A fantastic result for the Magpies, as his side absolutely dominated the hosts and were comfortable to hold on to the lead despite a drop in performance in the second half.

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