The Red Devils played host to Newcastle United yesterday at Old Trafford in the Premier League. This was the beginning of a tough run of fixtures for United, as they have three matches in seven days against some very good teams. One of those teams was today’s opponent, colloquially known the Magpies. They are challenging for European spots this year thanks to a hefty spend in the summer transfer window, funded by their new Saudi owners in that country’s latest act of sportswashing. I have a deep respect and admiration for Newcastle United as a club and for it’s history, but that respect to does not extend to their new ownership group.
The match got underway and both sides seemed content to feel each other out gradually. I was hoping United would be more on the attack from the get-go, but that was not really the case. Winger Jadon Sancho had a shot go wide of the target from distance, but that was United’s only action in the opening 20 minutes. Newcastle came closer to a goal on 23 minutes after midfielder Joelinton struck the crossbar with a header and then struck the post off the rebound with a follow-up header. The woodwork was the hero twice, as United keeper David De Gea would not have gotten to either effort. There was no major action again until 37 minutes, when United winger Antony dos Santos was denied from close range at a tight angle by the legs of Newcastle and England keeper Nick Pope. Bruno Fernandes then saw his header go wide in first half stoppage time, and the half ended 0-0. Newcastle had the best chance to score, but United had more chances to score. A fairly even half with maybe a slight edge to United.
The second half got off to an odd start when striker Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to steal the ball away from the feet of Pope and slot home for 1-0, but the referee mysteriously disallowed the goal. He had previously awarded Newcastle a free kick which Pope was set to take, and it appeared to have been touched by a Newcastle defender as Pope was readying himself for a long kick. Ronaldo elected to take the ball around Pope and slot home in an empty net, but the referee Craig Pawson called the goal back and booked Ronaldo instead! A very confusing sequence of events. I don’t think Pawson saw the Newcastle defender touch the ball because he wasn’t paying attention. Terrible, really. Ronaldo caught them napping and was punished for it.
Another poor decision from Pawson happened on 53 minutes, when Ronaldo was collided with by Newcastle and England fullback Kieran Trippier. Replays showed Tripper clearly stepping on Ronaldo’s foot without getting contact on the ball, yet neither Pawson nor VAR intervened to correct the decision. Pawson was repeatedly in the negative spotlight as the half wore on. Newcastle’s primary tactic became to foul United players any time they were on the ball in attack, and Pawson repeatedly failed to appropriately punish the fouls or he missed them altogether.
United got two fantastic chances late on, the first of which was squandered by poor finishing from midfielder Fred after an excellent run and cross from winger/forward Marcus Rashford that pulled Pope way off his line. Fred had the goal open in front of him, but he couldn’t get enough control on the ball due to the pace of the cross and he flashed it wide left. Rashford was then guilty of a bad miss himself in stoppage time when his header off a sublime cross by midfielder Casemiro over the top in from the left also went wide of the post. Rashford had space and you could tell he was trying to guide it back across the face of goal, but he couldn’t find the back of the net. The final whistle blew a few minutes later and the match ended 0-0.
It is fair to partially blame the referee and the cynical tactics from Newcastle for this result, but just as much blame (if not more) needs to be placed on United’s poor finishing, particularly in the second half. For most of this match, in particular the second half, United were the better side. They had the possession advantage, they were creating more chances, and generally keeping a decent Newcastle side penned in their own half. The two chances at the end of the match in particular were glaringly bad. This is the second match in a row where finishing has been the principal and primary issue as well. They got away with it in midweek against Omonia Nicosia, but squandering chances and hoping for a miracle in the final minutes is not a reliable formula for winning matches. A striker is required in January. This club cannot rely on an injury-prone Anthony Martial and an aging Ronaldo to be the primary goal threats. Rashford is not a natural center-forward, either. He can play there if needed, but he’s much more effective down the left and right wings and then cutting inside to create a shooting chance.
All that said, United had a goal wrongly disallowed and were denied at least one, maybe two clear penalties in this match. Pawson was terrible and the Newcastle players knew they could get away with fouling United players because he wasn’t going to card anyone. VAR was also mysteriously not called into action several times when perhaps it should have been, so the VAR official had a bit of a shocker as well.
At the end of the day, one point is better than zero points. It is also the first Premier League draw of manager Erik ten Hag’s tenure, interestingly. United sit 5th in the table still, now three points off Chelsea in 4th instead of just one. United host in-form Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday at Old Trafford. If United don’t sort out their scoring issues, that could be a very bad match. Spurs are scoring for fun right now and United will probably need at least 1-2 goals for a realistic chance at a good result.
Glory Glory Man United!
4-4-2 