Man Utd 4-1 Newcastle: Comedy of errors cost NUFC dearly after brilliant start

It felt like deja vu when Matty Longstaff netted to put us 1-0 up against Man Utd once again, but basic errors and poor defending meant there was no big win over the Red Devils this time. Far from it.

We couldn’t have wished for a better start. Man Utd were moving the ball too slowly, we were pressing well and trying to hurt them on the counter with pace and forward runners. When Gayle smashed over after some great work from Joelinton I thought we’d missed our big chance, but that was cancelled out just moments later.

Joelinton got in behind, held the ball up well and laid it on a plate for Matty Longstaff, who finished calmly once again to make it two in two against the Red Devils this season.

I thought we had them exactly where we wanted them, but how wrong was I. Let the self-inflicted capitulation commence.

Firslty it was Dubravka at fault (a rare moment after several months of superb form). He was beaten far too easily at his front post to give Anthony Martial a goal out of nowhere.

We steadied the ship, but only momentarily, with Schar then the next NUFC player to make a costly error.

A horror pass in an awful area fell to Mason Greenwood, giving him a chance to score from 20-yards – and he did so emphatically (albeit via a deflection off Federico Fernandez).

2-1 down from 0-1 up thanks to TWO avoidable errors, and it got worse before half-time. Some will say the game should’ve stopped because of a head injury to Matty Longstaff, but we were being overrun in midfield and giving them too much of the ball in areas around the edge of the box – and we were punished again. Wan-Bissaka’s cross evaded Schar and Rashford headed in from point-blank range to make it 3-1.

To go in at half-time not only losing but by two goals was a real shame considering how well we’d started.

I thought the errors would dry up in the second half and we’d either have a go or see it as damage limitation, but another awful mistake was made barely 5 minutes into the second half. This time it was Sean Longstaff, whose woefully under hit back-pass allowed Martial to score.

The game then died down, with Atsu, Yedlin and Krafth appearing in the second half to help give us some extra legs. It’s quite telling that Jonjo Shelvey, Isaac Hayden and Andy Carroll were all left on the bench, with all three clearly being rested for the visit of Everton in 48 hours.

We’ve been spirited, organised and defensively very solid (from front to back) in recent months, but it was a real capitulation today and performance of a side who’d missed training and ate too much Turkey.

Man Utd were clinical, but we gave them the Boxing Day gifts they needed to get back into the game and never recovered.

Let’s hope we’re much better against Everton on Saturday – we’ll need to be.

(Fancy writing for us? Send any articles/ideas over to us at [email protected] & we’ll get back to you!)

About Olly Hawkins

As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.

15 thoughts on “Man Utd 4-1 Newcastle: Comedy of errors cost NUFC dearly after brilliant start

  1. Even though we were shyte we still extended the number of places we are above Sunderland to 49 because they dropped to 15th in the 3rd division. Their lowest League position in their history.

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  2. Where the hell do I start?! Man Utd we’re actually pretty average apart from taking their chances that was gifted to them by us. And even the goal they did score that wasn’t a mistake should have been a free kick. Unless poking someone in the eye these days is acceptable.

    Anyway, it’s a reality check. We’re ***** and have been all season.

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  3. I was watching at home with a mate who is a massive manc supporter. What a horror show of a match. So many errors. We gifted them at least 3 of the goals. Horrible. Chuffed for Matty though. I think he is better than his brother. Oh well, still 10th.

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  4. I am not giving Gayle a free pass for that miss but he did the right thing against De Gea. You either blast it high or chip him. You know exactly what he is going to do in that situation and that is spread himself and save with his feet. You should never hot it low against De Gea.

    It is hard to figure out Sean Longstaff. Either he was a flash in the pan or the knee injury is still affecting him. Or a bit of both? Fred and MCtominay should not scare anybody.

    Should we just write this one off because we always get beat at Old Trafford and there were some uncharacteristic errors?

    Anyway, the quick turnaround will help. Everton are not that good either and Ancelotti hasn’t really had any time with them.

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  5. The pundits should learn a lesson that they were too quick to heap praise on Bruce. They must never have watched any of our games. He has done a great job of accumulating points but we have had a lot of luck in a few games.

    I still think he has done a good job given none of our strikers are firing. I stick with my B for the first half of the season and don’t think we will be relegated.

    With Bruce, I don’t think we can get ahead of ourselves and praise him to the hills like some of his Pals. I have more tried not to criticize him because there is enough of that on other blogs where you would think he was Phil Parkinson FFS.

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  6. They keep showing Brighton over here. They could be a dark horse for relegation. There is a pattern in their games where they dominate in the first half but miss chances and maybe score one. Then they tire and go to **** in the second half.

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  7. The knives will be out for Bruce again, especially if we don’t beat Everton. It is just the way it is at NUFC. If we win it is a bed of roses, and if we lose the sky is falling. Except, inexplicably when Rafa was Manager.

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  8. Having had time to reflect, I was ragging about the stupid mistakes yesterday – and still aren’t happy about them now.

    But, we were away to Man Utd. Rarely do you get anything at Old Trafford – so, maybe that wasn’t bad fixture to get those stupid mistakes out the way.

    Usually we are excellent defensively, but yesterday was a huge FUBAR.

    Hopefully that’s a kick up the backside. But it’s not the end of the world.

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  9. What must it be like being Gini Wijnaldum? Leaving NUFC when we were relegated. Getting to the final of the Champions League and being cheated out of it. Then winning it. Very unlucky not to win the PL last year and who knows there might even be a CL and PL double although with knockouts you never know. But Liverpool are definitely the best team in the world at the moment.

    And then there’s Henderson. Imagine what he feels when he talks to his Mackem Pals. He is also playing out of his skin at the moment.

    And Milner. He left Man City for playing time and now finds himself in a better team in the twilight of his career. Although you would never know it by looking at him. He must have about 2% body fat.

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  10. You have to think the CL is between Liverpool and City.

    Barcelona all got old together and Messi can’t win every game by himself. Plus he is 32.

    Real were a bit lucky and had peak Ronaldo for their unbelievable run of wins. That won’t happen again.

    Bayern got old together just like Barca. They usually dominate like Man U did by buying their rivals’ best players. I don’t see that happening as much and certainly not for Man U anymore who have lost their cache even though they can still pay the most cash.

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  11. We have probably done the league a favour by handing Man U the game on a plate. Now their forwards are suddenly awesome and all they need is a bit of time – the tabloids will say. And OGS is finding his feet because they are only (x) off 4th. They may not even add anybody in January and continue to rely on an 18 year old, a sulk (Martial) and a player who is desperate to get away (Pogba).

    Being a few points off 4th is completely different to being 25 off Liverpool at the half way stage which is what Man Us gauge should be. I am glad to see their fans and press fanboys have lowered their expectations to that of Wolves or Everton.

    OGS in.

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