Football writer Alex Keble analyses Newcastle United's 4-1 win against Manchester United.
There was a time not long ago when a calm, routine 4-1 victory for Newcastle United would have triggered a mini-meltdown inside and outside Manchester United.
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These days, with Man Utd beyond crisis and into a season-long malaise, results like this simply feel like a regulation win for the demonstrably better side.
It’s been nothing like a regular week for Newcastle, of course, and it’s to their enormous credit that they ended such an unsettling period with a victory to delight head coach Eddie Howe as he recovers in hospital.
“When we went onto the pitch we said we are going to play for him,” Bruno Guimaraes told Sky Sports after. “We missed him this week, and hopefully this win will give him a little bit of happiness.”
Newcastle were by far the better team and thoroughly deserved to beat a disappointing Man Utd, although it’s only fair to acknowledge that Ruben Amorim's side were understandably distracted by the UEFA Europa League matches against Lyon either side of Sunday's contest.
By contrast, Newcastle looked as refreshed and cohesive as you might expect from a team without European football this season.
To neatly illustrate the point, Man Utd made five changes to the team that drew 1-1 in Lyon three days earlier. Newcastle have named the same starting XI for five successive matches and won the lot.
Barnes and Murphy show benefits of well-rested players
Tactically, Newcastle’s performance was pure Howe: sudden tempo-changing bursts of energy, ruthless punishment of opposition errors and counter-attacks funnelled down the wings.
And as has so often been the case recently, Harvey Barnes benefited the most from Newcastle’s approach.
Barnes’s brace took him to five goal contributions in his last four Premier League appearances and confirmed his renewed value off the left.
“He is an unbelievable player,” Guimaraes said of his team-mate after. “He deserves his moment.”
At this rate, Anthony Gordon is going to have a tough job dislodging him in the run-in.
There’s no room on the other side, either, where Jacob Murphy’s smart assist for the crucial second goal took him to 17 goal involvements in the Premier League this season – and 14 in his last 16 matches.
Indeed, Murphy became the first Newcastle player to reach 10 open-play Premier League assists in a season since Laurent Robert in 2001/02 (11).
The performances of Barnes and Murphy highlighted Newcastle’s freshness, a huge advantage in the race for UEFA Champions League qualification.
For that they have Man Utd to thank, given it was Erik ten Hag’s side winning the FA Cup that bumped the Magpies out of Europe despite Howe’s side finishing above them in the Premier League table last season.
That truly was a blessing in disguise, because a freed-up Newcastle have accelerated just as fatigue hits their rivals. Only Liverpool (41) have won more points over the last 16 matches than Newcastle (36).
They are now clear favourites to qualify for the Champions League.
Newcastle’s four goals exemplify four familiar Man Utd issues
As for Man Utd, there were signs of tentative progress in the first half – only for familiar flaws to undermine any sense that Amorim’s side are moving forward.
In fact, the four Newcastle goals neatly captured the four big problems Amorim has. In order, Man Utd conceded due to: positional issues in the two-man midfield; confusion among the wing-backs; losing possession passing out from defence; and a goalkeeping headache.
We can go through them in turn.
Amorim’s 3-4-2-1 formation looks better formed these days, yet there remains a structural issue when Man Utd are pushed into a flat back five, leaving two central midfielders overwhelmed in the middle.
Newcastle’s opener, assisted by Alexander Isak receiving the ball in far too much space on the edge of United's box, was built through those gaps in Man Utd’s formation (below).
The second goal saw Diogo Dalot beaten too easily by Tino Livramento, raising fresh concerns about Amorim’s wing-backs, and the third saw Barnes pinch possession because a disjointed build-up structure limited Noussair Mazraoui’s options.
For a final flourish, a poor pass from the otherwise solid Altay Bayindir unfortunately reminded everyone of Man Utd’s ongoing goalkeeper problem, after Andre Onana was left out of the squad following two errors in Lyon.
Indeed, head coach Amorim saw the match as defined entirely by errors.
“We made many mistakes,” he told Sky Sports. “We did a lot of mistakes that make it harder to win a game, that’s all.”
Only Southampton (19) and Aston Villa (13) have made more errors leading to goals in the Premier League this season than Man Utd (12).
And since Amorim's first match in charge, only Southampton (59), Tottenham Hotspur (53) and Leicester City (53) have shipped more goals in all competitions than their 48.
Mistakes are clearly a big part of the problem – and Amorim’s main worry ahead of their biggest match of the season.
“All the mistakes we made today, we cannot do it on Thursday.”
That much is obvious. But the bigger question is: are these really unforced errors, or are they symptoms of a tactical structure the players still don’t fully understand?
