5 Manchester United players who underperformed against Newcastle United | Premier League 2021-22
Out-of-favor star Edinson Cavani came to Manchester United’s rescue as they huffed and puffed to a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United in the Premier League. Ralf Rangnick’s visitors were the out-and-out favorites against relegation-threatened Newcastle United, but failed to impose their authority on Monday night.
The draw has left Manchester United in seventh position, seven points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal, with a couple of games in hand.
Newcastle, who had lost their previous three Premier League matches, silenced the away supporters with the opener in the seventh minute. Allan Saint-Maximin made the most of Manchester United’s horrid defending to put the home team ahead.
Despite conceding the early goal, Manchester United were unable to reorganize themselves and were being exposed by Newcastle’s clever movements. David de Gea made some stunning saves to keep United in the contest.
In the second half, Rangnick turned to Edinson Cavani for inspiration and the Uruguayan happily obliged. He gave Manchester United the edge when going forward. His efforts finally paid off in the 71st minute when he stabbed the ball home from 12 yards to restore parity for the Red Devils.
Newcastle United were left to rue their missed chances as Manchester United undeservingly avoided defeat at St. James’ Park.
Here are the five Manchester United players who thoroughly underperformed in their stalemate with Newcastle United on Monday night:
#5 Marcus Rashford
Ralf Rangnick deployed Marcus Rashford in a deeper position against Newcastle United, possibly to make him a bit more involved in the game.
Not only did he fail to get involved for the most part, but he also lacked the sharpness usually associated with him.
I'm sorry but with the attackers we have Rashford shouldn't be having these many minutes on his current form
Except for the excellent through ball to Alex Telles in the 75th minute, Rashford did very little to justify his place in the starting XI.
The England international was even scolded by Cristiano Ronaldo for squandering a Manchester United counter-attack.
#4 Harry Maguire
A couple of decent performances later, Harry Maguire was back to square one. The Manchester United skipper looked shaky as ever against a spirited Newcastle United side and was easily undone by Saint-Maximin’s movement.
Harry Maguire is pound for pound the worst Man United player of all time
Maguire allowed the Newcastle star to see the inside of De Gea’s goal and Saint-Maximin wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to make him pay.
The seventh-minute goal should have served as a wake-up call for the Englishman, but his performance hardly improved from there.