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Manchester United beat Newcastle United 4-1 to register an emphatic win in their 4th match of the Premier League this season at Old Trafford today. United are now at the top of the table with 10 points from four matches. Meanwhile, Newcastle are at the 19th position with a solitary point from the same number of matches.
For United, Cristiano Ronaldo made a dream comeback by scoring a brace. Ronaldo last played in a United shirt in 2009. Almost every Manchester United faithful had pinned their hopes on the Portuguese legend at the start of the match, and they were not disappointed.
The Portuguese influence was obvious, as Ronaldo’s compatriot Bruno Fernandes scored his 4th goal of the season to increase the lead in the second half. Finally, Jesse Lingard rounded off the victory with a composed strike.
For Newcastle, Javier Manquillo scored the only goal in the 56th minute of the match.
The Red Devils' official Twitter page celebrated the win in the following way:
On that note, we would take a look at the three factors which stood out in the match:
1. Ronaldo found the net at the fag end of the first half:
Manchester United dominated the majority of the first half, but had to wait until the very end to score their first goal. United started putting pressure on the Newcastle defense from the very beginning of the match, and had more than 70% of the ball possession during the first 15 minutes of it.
United started with a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Ronaldo playing as the center forward. Jadon Sancho started as the left winger, Mason Greenwood as the right winger and Fernandes as the no. 10.
Ronaldo kept moving to the left flank at times, and both Sancho and Greenwood tried to cut into the Newcastle penalty box from either flank. However, neither of them succeeded in dribbling past the Newcastle defenders and getting deep into the penalty box.
Moreover, Paul Pogba playing as a holding midfielder meant that Manchester United were often missing a creative outlet upfront. Still, both Pogba and Fernandes played some chipped through balls into the penalty box, but the United forwards could not put them to good use.
Ronaldo, who had hit the side-netting after entering the box through the inside-left channel, finally succeeded in scoring his 119th goal for Manchester United.
Greenwood dribbled past a Newcastle defender through the inside-right channel and played a left-footed shot, which Freddie Woodman could not grab properly. Ronaldo showed a striker’s instinct by being the first player to reach the deflected ball and slot it into the goal.
2. Newcastle primarily played counter-attacking football in the match:
Newcastle began with a 3-5-2 formation, but often played 5-4-1 whenever they lost possession, as both their full-backs fell back and Joelinton dropped into midfield. Allan Saint-Maximin was often their lone man going forward, and he troubled the Manchester United defense somewhat with his robust runs.
However, Newcastle also managed to increase numbers in the opposition half at times, and exchanged a number of passes. However, they could only bother De Gea a few times, as both teams struggled to have shots at the opposition goal.
Still, Newcastle defended superbly and did not allow the Manchester United players any shooting space in their defensive third. Ronaldo’s first goal jolted them, but the Magpies threatened to come back into the match with Manquillo’s equalizer at the beginning of the second half.
3. Manchester United dazzled in the second half with a near-perfect performance:
Despite conceding a goal early on in the second half, Manchester United strengthened their grasp on the match with a brilliant performance thereafter. United dominated the proceedings, with Pogba adopting more advanced positions in the Newcastle half more frequently, and Luke Shaw often moving inside to increase United’s dominance in central areas.
Manchester United’s second goal resulted from a counter-attacking move. Shaw received the ball near the halfway line and carried it into the opposition half. He then played a pass to an advancing Ronaldo, who made no mistake in beating the goalkeeper. Woodman should probably have done better, as he allowed the ball to go through his legs.
Fernandes’ stunning shot from 25 yards out increased Manchester United’s lead in the 80th minute. Lingard signed off with a cool finish in the 92nd minuteafter receiving the ball in the penalty box. On both the aforementioned occasions, the final pass was played by the redoubtable Pogba.
