Manchester United at Newcastle Match Report

Manchester United 1-0 Newcastle (as I predicted)

This match recap will have to be a quick one as I only got to watch some of the game due to class. Wednesday games are really tough to catch, but I’ll do my best to give a recap of the action.

There were some changes to the formation and personnel from what we saw against Sunderland. The back four remained the same, which makes me think that Luke Shaw is either hurting or really needs to regain his fitness. Evans looked shakier in this appearance, and United were lucky not to concede on a couple of occasions.

In the midfield, Herrera and Blind stayed in the holding role. Young played on the left flank while di Maria played on the right. Fellaini was a surprise start at central attacking midfielder. Finally, Rooney got the nod up top.

United displayed the same possession style football this game, but there were more chances than we’re used to. Rooney had multiple opportunities to score in the first half but wasn’t able to. For Newcastle, they should have been awarded a penalty when Smalling committed a foul in the box. United got lucky not to be penalized as it was a sure foul after looking at the replay. The wing play wasn’t as good this game as it has been in recent games, but Young still played fairly well. Di Maria struggled though and was again replaced by Januzaj eventually.

It seemed certain that the match would head to a draw with neither side being able to capitalize on their scoring chances. Unfortunately for me, I had to go to class at around the 70^th minute, so I only got to see the live updates on my phone. In the 89^th minute, Tim Krul made a poor clearance from a dangerous back pass that ultimately went right to Young who was able to put it in. It wasn't the best performance for United, but they got the result and looked more dangerous in attack. Arsenal and Liverpool also won, so the top four remains the same. 

Carrick made his return for United, though it was extremely late, to give some hope that he could play in the FA Cup match Monday against Arsenal.

Here's the goal (Sorry it's not the best quality):

Now for the player ratings:

David de Gea: 6 – Made a crucial save in the first half on a lobbed ball over the defense which Riviere tried to finish, only to be stifled. Other than that, didn’t have all that much to do.

Antonio Valencia: 6 – Another decent performance as Valencia once again got into the attack down the flank.

Smalling: 5 – Didn’t have much to contend with for the game, but he nearly cost his team a penalty.

Evans: 6 – Again, like Smalling, didn’t have much to do for the game. Did alright when he had the ball. Evans also got into a spat with Cisse of Newcastle.

Rojo: 6 – Similar performance to Valencia and the other defenders. He did what he had to when necessary, but it was few and far between.

Blind: 6 – Blind didn’t have one of his best games, as Newcastle was able to get by him a couple of times. Still, he played well in attack, as expected.

Herrera: 5 – Herrera, in my opinion, did not have one of his better games. There were a couple of times when he lost the ball, including when he was the last man. The mistake led to a Cisse chance which thankfully he put wide.

Di Maria: 4 – Another poor performance from the Argentine. Needlessly lost numerous possessions only to put the pressure on his teammates. Subbed off for Januzaj in the second half, who I believe should have started.

Young: 8 – Young probably had the best performance for United once again. He scored the winner and was United’s best attacking player.

Fellaini: 6 – Fellaini made a surprise start and didn’t do much to contribute. He had a decent header in the second half saved by Krul but other than that wasn’t too much of a threat.

Rooney: 5 – Rooney missed a couple of chances that were on the easier side in the first half. Still showed why he’s the captain with his heart and drive.

(video from YouTube Channel Aldo)