As a guest on Newcastle’s field, coach Ten Hag used a lineup similar to the one that won 3-0 against Everton last week, except that Shaw was pushed to play center back to replace Lindelof. The Dutch strategist surprised everyone by leaving both Lindelof and Varane, the “Red Devils'” top midfielders, on the bench.
Ten Hag’s squad was quickly overwhelmed by the home team. With strong play, Newcastle players rushed forward to attack, causing Man Utd to struggle. In the 9th minute, Dalot cleared the ball and hit his own hand in an incomprehensible play with Onana. Fortunately, the referee did not find fault with the away team.
In the 17th minute, Newcastle players successfully penetrated the away team’s defense thanks to accurate passes. Almiron shot a low shot in the center of the penalty area, directed the ball towards the left corner, goalkeeper Onana leaned over and pushed the ball out.
Man Utd struggled quite hard, and the away team’s attacks were not impressive. Newcastle’s best chance in the first half came in the 39th minute. Trippier took a free kick from about 21 meters away. Onana stood still and watched, but the ball bounced off the crossbar.
Newcastle launched 14 shots in the first half but failed to score a goal. The home team continued to push their offensive line into the second half and achieved results in the 55th minute. Man Utd players failed to deploy the ball, allowing Newcastle to win the ball and Trippier crossed accurately for Gordon to attack. Entering the ball from close range to score a goal.
Despite being behind, Man Utd could not rise up, facing an inferior position forcing coach Ten Hag to change personnel with Antony, Hojlund was put on the field to replace Rashford and Martial in the 61st minute. Personnel adjustments helped Man Utd played better than themselves in the first half.
However, Man Utd only organized a better attack in terms of the number of shots, but the quality was just nil. The away team had 6 shots in the second half – 3 times more than the first half – but not once did the ball hit the goal.
The most notable play of the away team took place in the 89th minute. Antony shot from the right side of the goal, the ball hit Maguire and went into the net. The referee caught Maguire offside, the former captain of Man Utd seemed to know the error so he did not celebrate.
Unable to score, Man Utd sadly lost 0-1 to Newcastle and was surpassed by their opponents on the rankings. Newcastle is ranked 5th with 26 points, Man Utd still only has 24 points and is ranked 7th.