Eddie Howe may have been out of action whilst recovering from a bout of Pneumonia, but his players still delivered on his every word.
Over two games, United collected six points and scored nine goals. Jacob Murphy and Harvey Barnes continued their immense runs of form, and Sandro Tonali showed again why he is one of Europe’s top midfielders this season.
The Magpies now sit a lofty third in the Premier League table amid this astonishing late-season push, four points ahead of fifth-place Manchester City and only four points behind Champions League semi-finalists Arsenal in second. Newcastle are getting closer and closer to recording the greatest season in the club’s 133-year history, having already collected Carabao Cup silverware. Let’s take a look at what unfolded this week, shall we?
As always, Sam here, and welcome to this week’s Toon Review.
Two Matches, Six Points, Nine Goals
The build-up to Sunday afternoon’s action at St James’ Park was dominated by the news that Head Coach Eddie Howe had taken ill at the start of the weekend and was admitted to hospital, meaning he would miss at least that weekend’s game. Now we know that Howe is being treated for Pneumonia, and should be back in a couple of matches’ time. We’re wishing you well, Eddie!
The game itself went pretty much as expected. Manchester United had slightly more of the ball but failed to do much with it. Tindall’s Magpies were lethal on the counter and hit the visiting Red Devils for four, and it could have quite easily been more. Manchester United’s goalkeeping woes have dominated their season of late, and they were there for all to see again on Saturday, even as regular shot-stopper Andre Onana was omitted in favour of backup Altay Bayindir.
Sandro Tonali opened the scoring with a beauty midway through the first half, connecting on a lofted Alexander Isak through ball to volley it home into the far bottom corner. Winger Alejandro Garnacho equalised for the Red Devils just before half-time with a neat finish, but the visitors found themselves behind once more in the 49th minute courtesy of a Harvey Barnes strike after a cutback from the electric Jacob Murphy (more on him later). Barnes added another soon after, finishing after dribbling through a non-existent Manchester United defence. Bruno Guimaraes completed the rout on 77 minutes. A horrendous error from Bayindir gifted possession to Joelinton on the edge of the box, who, although he may not have known much about it, headed it to an on-rushing Bruno who slotted home. 4-1. Three Points. And a very happy Jason Tindall.
Following this was another five-star performance, this time punctuated by five Newcastle goals. United started, continued, and finished on the front foot. Aside from a timid penalty miss from Ebere Eze, Crystal Palace offered very little to the action on Wednesday night.
Alexander Isak came close with a couple of early efforts, seeing a first-time strike saved by Dean Henderson and a headed try soar just over the bar at the Gallowgate End. The deadlock was soon broken, however, via a stupendous tight-angle shot from Jacob Murphy, which bamboozled Henderson and flew into the roof of the net. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but an England call-up based on his form this season would not be too big of a surprise.
Nick Pope then came up huge in the Newcastle goal, saving an albeit weak penalty from Eze. Nonetheless, it was a key moment in the match that sparked the onslaught that Newcastle would come to subject the visitors to.
Courtesy of another own goal from Palace’s Marc Guehi (much like earlier in the season), as well as goals from Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schär and Isak, the rout was complete on just 58 minutes. The defensive work following the goals was very pleasing, with United earning their first league clean sheet at home since January.
A great week for Newcastle United.
What Jason Tindall said
Post-Man Utd
“I had a text message from Eddie Howe congratulating the performance. He was able to watch the game, and I’m sure that performance would’ve put a smile on his face.”
“I thought we were really aggressive in the way we pressed, especially in the second half. We played some great football and we scored some good goals.”
On the form of Harvey Barnes: “He’s in excellent form at the minute. We all know he’s a top player and always good for a goal.”
“We need to take each game as it comes. We’ve got seven cup finals remaining, and if we can deliver the level of performance that we did today, hopefully that can be enough to finish in the Champions League spots.”
Post-Palace
“It was a great performance. We asked the players to deliver the same level of performance as they did on Sunday, and personally I felt that they went out and delivered a better one.”
On the importance of Nick Pope’s penalty save: “Momentum can change if that one goes in. Full credit to Nick and the lads to bounce back the way they did.”
On Jacob Murphy’s opener: “It was a great strike from Jacob. You’ll have to ask him if he meant it!”
On Isak returning to the scoresheet: “As a number nine you always want to score goals. Alex had obviously gone a couple of games without a goal, so really pleased for him.”
“We pride ourselves on being good in both boxes. We want to be really aggressive and score as many goals as possible, but at the same time we want to defend with really good discipline.”
The Rumour Mill
Newcastle have met with representatives of Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen, ahead of a decision being made on the 19-year-old’s future. (Athletic)
Newcastle are in the hunt to sign Wolves and Brazil forward Matheus Cunha, but face competition from several other Premier League sides. (Daily Mail)
The Magpies are interested in Racing Genk and Greece midfielder Konstantinos Karetsas, 17. (Sun)
Newcastle have beaten Real Madrid and Barcelona to the signing of 18-year-old Spanish Malaga winger Antonio Cordero. (Fabrizio Romano)
Juventus have made Sandro Tonali one of their summer transfer targets. (Gazzetta dello Sport)
Several clubs are following the situation of Lewis Miley ahead of the summer transfer window. (Fabrizio Romano)
On This Day…
On this day in 1998, Newcastle played out a 1-1 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford. This was a time in which the Red Devils were not a hopeless mess of a team, although the Magpies were in the midst of a poor season in contrast to the highs of the mid-90s. Newcastle did qualify for the Cup Winners’ Cup, however, despite finishing 13th in the table, due to FA Cup winners Arsenal qualifying instead for the Champions League.
Both goals came in the first half, with an early goal from Newcastle’s Andreas Andersson cancelled out by an equaliser from David Beckham.
What’s Next?
Aston Villa (A)
Saturday tea-time will see United’s biggest test in a while as they travel to Birmingham to take on an Aston Villa side who came very close to upsetting PSG in the Champions League quarter-final clash between the two.
With Howe still sidelined, Jason Tindall will look to make it three on the bounce for a rampaging Newcastle, whilst also looking to put a dent in Villa’s European ambitions.
HWTL.
Toon Trivia
Trivia time! Last week, with a clash against Manchester United on the horizon, I asked you for the projected capacity of their potential new stadium. Well done to those of you who correctly said 100,000.
This week, ahead of a trip to Villa Park, let me ask you this. Who did Aston Villa beat in the 1982 European Cup final, and what was the score?
See you all next time!
