Newcastle United won the chasing duel against Manchester United on Saturday evening and overtook the Red Devils in the table. Gordon scored the decisive goal for the Magpies
Newcastle United coach Eddie Howe started the home game against Manchester United with the same starting eleven as in the 1-1 draw at Paris St. Germain. For the third game in a row, the 46-year-old made no changes to his starting line-up.
For Erik ten Hag and his Red Devils, meanwhile, Saturday got off to a bumpy start. The visitors from Manchester, who had drawn 3-3 at Galatasaray Istanbul during the week, had to switch from plane to bus due to the weather conditions. Lindelöf, Amrabat, Antony and Höjlund, who were replaced by Diogo Dalot, Mainoo, Rashford and Martial, were on board but not on the pitch from the start this time.
Newcastle also fail to hit the crossbar
The switch from Höjlund to Martial at the heart of the visitors’ attack did not really bear fruit for the time being, as the Frenchman rarely made an appearance in the first half. Instead, it was the home side who dictated the tempo early on and repeatedly caused Man United problems.
After three promising chances in the space of a few minutes (17th, 18th and 20th), Newcastle captain Trippier missed the best opportunity of the match to date in the 39th minute. The right-back’s direct free-kick from around 18 meters failed to hit the crossbar, saving the Red Devils from going behind.
The hosts piled on the pressure again shortly before the break, but were once again unable to beat the attentive Maguire (44 and 45 minutes). The visitors went into the half-time break with a goalless draw and no complaints from the visitors, who had only created a real attacking threat once through Garnacho (11).
Gordon slots in from close range
The picture did not change after the restart. Newcastle continued to dominate – and deservedly took the lead in the 55th minute. A low cross from Trippier only needed to be slotted into the Man United goal by Gordon at the second post. Erik ten Hag responded to the deficit with a double substitution, with Höjlund and Antony coming on for Martial and Rashford (61′).
The Red Devils did not manage much in the following period either, which was mainly due to poor passing in the final third. Man United continued to lack any attacking threat, and the visitors were lucky that Wan-Bissaka was able to keep out a shot from Isak just before the goal line (78′).
Unfortunately for the Magpies, they were forced to make an injury-related substitution in the 86th minute after goalkeeper Pope had been injured by a long-range shot from Reguilon (82). Both the goalkeeper’s substitution and the nine minutes of stoppage time that followed were not enough to put the Magpies off course. The 1:0 win against a weak and far too harmless Red Devils was ultimately perfectly acceptable
There is little time for both teams to take a breather. On Thursday, the Magpies visit Everton FC (8.30pm). The Red Devils host Chelsea FC on Wednesday at 9 p.m.
