St James’ Park isn’t the happiest of hunting grounds for the best of Premier League teams, so when Alejandro Garnacho equalised in the first half, drawing Manchester United level, a good result looked as though it was on the cards for Ruben Amorim’s men.
However, despite going into the break at 1-1, United’s joy was certainly short-lived.
The score come the full-time whistle read 4-1 in favour of Newcastle who had undone the Red Devils hardly at breakneck speed.
Indeed, a lot of the goals were easily avoidable. That rather tells the story of Man United’s season. While they have come up with some memorable moments in attack, individual mistakes have proven costly.
Just ask Andre Onana against Lyon in midweek. Well, there was no room for the Cameroon stopper this time around; totally excluded from the squad. It’s just a shame Altay Bayindir didn’t stake his claim either.
Man United's mistake-ridden performance vs Newcastle
Losing to Newcastle is certainly no disgrace but losing to the Magpies in the way Amorim’s men did, certainly is.
It’s a pity, largely because United had quite a good first half. They were only undone by a moment of individual brilliance from Alexander Isak who juggled the ball and popped it over the defence into Sandro Tonali who beat Bayindir.
Then, the visitors hit back through Garnacho. It was a brilliant counter-attack led by Diogo Dalot who surged through the centre of the pitch before playing the ball out to the right, where the Argentine steered the ball past Nick Pope.
While things were tight in the opening 45 minutes, they definitely were not in the second period. Harvey Barnes struck twice and then Bruno Guimaraes put the icing on the top of the cake late on.
Barnes was able to take advantage of some lapse defending, most notably for the second goal. The usually consistent Noussair Mazraoui turned inside but slipped, leaving Newcastle’s left winger to pick up possession.
Truth be told, the former Leicester man still had plenty to do but the closing down from Christian Eriksen, Leny Yoro and Victor Lindelof was unacceptable. Barnes was allowed the freedom of the Toon to dart through the middle and towards the box where he comfortably beat the goalkeeper.
The final goal was gift-wrapped by Onana’s deputy. This was a fine chance for Bayindir to stake his claim for the no.1 spot but this error proved he’s not up to the task either.
The Turkey international tried to dink a ball into a central area but Joelinton intercepted the pass and was able to find Guimaraes who did the rest.
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Still, there was another notable underperformer for Amorim on Sunday.
Man United's new Casemiro
It’s safe to say that the midfield areas have been one of the most problematic, not just during Amorim’s reign but during the Erik ten Hag era as well.
Kobbie Mainoo helped to add a sprinkle of quality last term, playing so well that he ended up in the England squad at the Euros after a campaign in which he’d scored in the FA Cup final.
Mainoo has struggled with form and fitness this term, as have the likes of Mason Mount and Casemiro, leading to regular appearances for the likes of Eriksen and for Bruno Fernandes in a deeper role.
Casemiro has actually enjoyed a mini-revival in the United team across recent weeks, notably rested for this match ahead of the second leg against Lyon due to his importance.
Yet, it wasn’t long ago that the Brazilian was attracting mass criticism, most famously from Jamie Carragher who told him to pack his bags and head to Saudi. “Leave the football before the football leaves you” was the quote.
Well, he’s hit back at the critics this term and is enjoying more form than his apparent successor, Manuel Ugarte.
The Uruguayan arrived last summer in a deal worth £42.1m and was supposed to be the man to add steel and bite to the midfield.
He has done so on the odd occasion, but he’s simply been far too inconsistent and perhaps the nadir of his time at Old Trafford so far came at the weekend.
Playing alongside Eriksen, the United midfield was simply bypassed at every opportunity. Ugarte may have won ten duels and completed 89% of his passes but the numbers didn’t tell the full story.
Minutes played
90
Touches
65
Accurate passes
40/45 (89%)
Key passes
0
Accurate crosses
0/1
Shots
2
Completed dribbles
4/5
Duels won
10/15
Possession lost
9x
Tackles
2
Interceptions
1
Indeed, Manchester Evening News reporter Samuel Luckhurst handed the midfielder a dismal 3/10 player rating, writing that it was ‘a mismatch against Tonali, Joelinton and Guimaraes’. What United would do for any of those players, eh?
The former PSG man was notably poor for the opening goal, with United district writer Cain Smith lamenting his “terrible” play as the 24-year-old turned down a straightforward pass before gifting the ball away.
It was that inability to progress the play and find teammates in better areas that really led to criticisms. Indeed, one United content creator noted on social media during the game that Ugarte “is frightened to death of passing forward and he’s so anxious.”
Those negative attributes are certainly shared with Casemiro who has attracted criticism for similar things in years gone by, but not even the Brazilian veteran isn’t as bad in that department.
He ranks within the best 41% of midfielders in the Premier League this term for progressive passes per 90 (4.60) while his Red Devils colleague sits among the worst 14%, making only 2.90 every 90 minutes.
The lack of progression among the pair of them is incredibly alarming. When assessing progressive carries, Ugarte only manages 0.56 per 90 while Casemiro registers 0.28, ranking him in the worst 3% of midfielders in the entire English top-flight.
Long gone, it seems, are the days of players like Paul Scholes, Roy Keane and Paul Pogba. The latter, in particular, was a ball progression machine. Amorim must lust after a midfield superstar who can actually move the ball forward.
While Casemiro isn’t the answer in that regard, he should definitely come in for Ugarte on Thursday evening.
Worse than Bayindir: 4/10 Man Utd flop should be nowhere near Amorim's XI
Manchester United were battered by Newcastle United on Sunday evening.
ByMatt Dawson