Manchester United took on Newcastle at Old Trafford today, with Erik ten Hag and his players looking to build on wins against Everton and Omonia.
The Dutch boss fielded an XI without Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford. The Dane was ruled out due to illness and Rashford was deemed to be ‘under the weather’.
Instead, Fred joined Casemiro at the heart of United’s midfield, while Jadon Sancho was positioned on the left flank.
Here are three things we learned from the Red Devils’ goalless draw against Newcastle
disappointing first part
By the standards established since Ten Hag arrived at the Theater of Dreams, the first 45 minutes were a far cry from what fans have grown accustomed to recently.
Ten Hag’s men battled against a physical and aggressive Newcastle who had no problem showing their superiority. In midfield, United’s midfield men were regularly outplayed by Bruno Guimarães and Joelinton.
The Magpies recorded the best chance of the first half, with Joelinton hitting the top wood first and then the side post, both attempts coming within seconds of each other.
The Reds did not have clear chances. Antony was the liveliest attacker and had a battle on his hands against Dan Burn.
Cristiano Ronaldo, as is the norm when he is on the pitch, was reduced to a passenger, hardly contributing anything. The same could be said for Bruno Fernandes and Fred, who failed to help Casemiro gain control of midfield.
Ten Hag would have breathed a sigh of relief to have gone into the break with level proceedings, but he will no doubt be annoyed at the players’ inability to put his instructions and tactics into practice.
Christian Eriksen was a great foul
United’s worst player in the first half was Fred. The Brazilian looked uncomfortable on the ball and was running behind the shadows for most of the game.
His desire and drive for the team can never fail, but against decent opposition like Newcastle, the player needs to muster more than just passion and drive.
As Eriksen’s replacement, Fred took on the Dane’s usual responsibilities and failed spectacularly at them, highlighting Eriksen’s vital importance as one of the club’s most important players.
Many fans have called for the 29-year-old to get more involved, but given the evidence of his performance against the Magpies, he did not have a successful audition.
His lack of technicality was screaming and unless he ordered, his days under Ten Hag may already be numbered.
United was the victim of terrible arbitration (Again)
Although United were not at their best against a resolute Newcastle, referee of the day Craig Pawson helped Eddie Howe’s men take a share of the points.
More than once, the referee decided against the 20-time English champions, even when all reasons suggested otherwise.
Sancho was denied a clear second-half penalty after being brought down inside the box. The referee wrongly judged that there was no case for Newcastle to answer.
The manner of Sancho’s fall probably ensured that VAR did not cause Pawson to check the monitor, but Longstaff caught him in the box. Pawson has never been a reliable referee (none of them are in the Premier League, mind).
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) October 16, 2022
At one point, Ronaldo comically caught Nick Pope’s ball, which was actually in play from the free kick spot, and guided it into the back of the net. According to the rules, this was a goal, but Pawson did not meet it. Instead, he showed Ronaldo a yellow card for protesting.
Many of Newcastle’s players committed fouls and even tactical fouls over and over again, which the referee refused to penalize. When a United player did the same thing, as in the case of Fernandes and Casemiro, they were immediately booked.
So bad was Pawson’s refereeing that at one point the Old Trafford faithful cheered wryly when he awarded United a free kick.
Big cheers as Pawson gives #mufc a free throw seconds after denying Rashford one.
— Samuel Luckhurst (@samuelluckhurst) October 16, 2022
Unfortunately for United, Pawson’s embarrassing refereeing adds to a long string of incidents and events that have gone against Ten Hag and his players this season.
