Details of the defeat against Newcastle at Old Trafford.
Now United look like an average team. Three defeats in a row and a home match against a big club in full renaissance. Newcastle take three points at Old Trafford and continue to chase the area Champions League. This defeat of the “red devils” still remains to be understood.
Rotation at the center, loss of leaders
The previous trip to Wolverhampton hit the Mancunians hard. This match also ended very badly – but besides the defeat there was other bad news. The leader of the attack was removed from his post Manchester United Bruno Fernandes – the team was without its playmaker for yesterday’s match. Manuel Ugarte was also unavailable due to too many yellow cards. The Uruguayan is important for Amorim because they have already worked at Sporting, the midfielder fits into the coach’s concept and understands his requirements. For the match against an opponent who had gained momentum, the Red Devils found themselves without two of their most important players.
Amorim had to change combinations in the center of the field and inside. Eriksen and Casemiro came out in the central axis. Zirkzee was released as a striker in conjunction with Diallo. Marcus Rashford also returned to the bench – but Ruben stuck to his position and wasn’t going to let the player onto the pitch.
Newcastle dismantled their opponents
For almost the entire first half, only the guests were visible on the field. Apparently the difference in teamwork had an effect. Manchester United came out in experimental combinations and could not impose a fight on his opponent. The Magpies opened the score in the fourth minute. Then, on the 19th, Joelinton increased his lead. And besides these moments, there were others, no less poignant. Gordon dominated Mazraoui in a duel on the left flank, Isak and Joelinton regularly broke away from the opposing defenders.
And in terms of team interactions, Newcastle were more interesting. Just look at the attack in the 31st minute: with a series of touch passes, the Magpies flew into someone else’s penalty area and brought Sandro Tonali out to strike. The midfielder hit the post. United’s first chances came only towards the end of the first half. Before that – total domination of the opponent.
Powerless in attack
Duel for Manchester United was developing according to the worst possible scenario. The difference in preparation was confirmed – and the opponent quickly took the lead. In the 20th minute, the score was 0:2 and the Mancunians were not performing at all in attack. Afterwards, the problems in the final third were only confirmed. Even with such a terrible start, United could have won the draw – they just had to convert their chances.
Høylund was brought in to shoot and Casemiro received the ball in an excellent position – and this in the 13th minute of the first half. Whether it was a striker or a midfielder, the shot was off target. After the break, Maguire, Eriksen (58th minute), Yoro (74th minute) had the opportunity to score. But it is not the result of systemic work, but rather the fruit of individual actions.
Howe brought the Magpies back to life
Last season, the team, which at the end of the 22/23 campaign found itself Champions Leaguedidn’t even reach the European Cups. Newcastle have been seriously hampered by injuries; the sports director also left last summer. It seemed that the project, after a brilliant push, had entered a zone of turbulence – and was not coping very well with it.
In the new championship, the problems continued – there were unnecessary defeats of Fulham, West Ham and Brentford, draws with Bournemouth, Everton and Palace. But in December the situation changed dramatically. The Magpies have made it four straight league wins – they have faced Leicester, Ipswich, Villa and Manchester United – and each time they simply eliminated the opponent (total goal difference – 13:0). From eighth place, Newcastle rose to fifth – and are now back in the fight for Champions League. “Chelsea” simultaneously suffered two defeats in a row and let the “magpies” get closer – Howe’s gang is three points behind fourth place.
Amorim’s position no longer seems correct
Amorim, after the first matches, said he would now restructure – let them suffer right away, rather than struggling with the same problems later. Today, its position has not changed – but questions arise about its effectiveness. After the match, the coach noted:
At the moment we have no training or foundation. When you are going through a difficult time, this foundation is necessary. The opponent played better than us, there is no doubt.
So the natural question is: why start rebuilding when there is no way to lay the foundations? The players are suffering, but not learning. There are still problems with consistency in the defensive line – the defenders are not used to playing with three (hence Isak’s goal). This could be justified as progress. Only it is not there, and what is worse, the relegation zone is only getting closer.
The question can be asked even deeper: was it worth rushing to appoint Amorim? The Portuguese pointed out that Manchester United Having started a rapid transition, the specialist himself wanted to wait until the end of the season. As a result, a coach came up with a new concept – and there was no break in the schedule to implement his vision. What was the rush? Van Nistelrooy has succeeded, if only at the beginning.
More – worse
United is preparing for a difficult start to the year. The team, in an unstable position and without a solid foundation, falls back to 14th place, seven points from the relegation zone. In this situation, we have to fight to survive. There is no way for a club with a great history to sink even lower. Only for that, we need victories – and in the first match of the new year, we will play against the unstoppable Liverpool. The Cup match against Arsenal will also require a lot of energy – and even against Southampton, it will not be easy (Manchester United have already given points to Ipswich and Wolverhampton).
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