After a 3-3 draw with Galatasaray to reduce their chances of advancing in the Champions League, Manchester United returned to the Premier League with a trip to Newcastle. The "Red Devils" need a positive result to ease the disappointment of fans.
The good news is that in the Premier League, Man United have won 3 consecutive matches recently without conceding to get close to the Top 4.
Coach Erik ten Hag was even nominated for the "Best Coach of November" award...
But all the positive points that people try to think of for Man United, in the end, are just a cover for the unresolved problem. Ten Hag surprised everyone by making Anthony Martial a starting midfielder instead of Rasmus Hojlund.
In the back line, Luke Shaw - not Victor Lindelof or Raphael Varane, was deployed as a centre-back with Harry Maguire.
After playing well against Everton, young talent Kobbie Mainoo was named in the starting lineup. But that is also Man United's problem when trying to find and patch up the positives together to hope for good results.
However, against Newcastle's fighting midfield, Mainoo was completely outclassed. Not only the 18-year-old player but also his seniors.
Captain Bruno Fernandes is weak in his challenges and it is not too much to say that he is also the face of Man United at St James' Park.
Man United controlled the whole match%.2% and had 8 shots - only 2 in the first half, and only 1 of which hit the target.
On the other hand, 22 is the statistics of the number of shots scored by the home team and if Andre Onana does not play well, as well as some luck is on Man United's side, the number of goals conceded is not just 1.
The only goal conceded after 10 minutes in the second half, Anthony Gordon taped the ball close to the goal after a cross from Kieran Tripper.
As mentioned, if he was luckier, Trippier also put his name on the scoreboard when the free kick overwhelmed Onana but the ball missed the post by a hair.
With efforts to save the situation, Ten Hag's personnel changes have not been effective. From Antony, Hojlund to Sofyan Amrabat, Man United is still hopeless.
Even if Newcastle had to change the goalkeeper in the final minutes due to Martin Dubravka's injury, Man United could not reverse the situation.
After losing, Man United (24 points) fell to 7th in the rankings, surpassed by Newcastle (26 points). Tottenham also have 26 points but will play on Sunday.
The way Man United started December was no less disappointing as they ended November. But there is no other way, Ten Hag and his students will still have to find another way to solve the problem and be forced to focus all their efforts in the last month of the year.
The reason is that they will have to go through a very difficult period, with a total of 7 more matches on all fronts. And it is worth mentioning that most of the opponents are very difficult to play, including Chelsea, Liverpool, West Ham, Aston Villa (in the Premier League) and Bayern Munich (in the Champions League).
