Newcastle United 1-0 Manchester United: 3 Reasons why the Red Devils lost | Premier League 2019/20
Manchester United's woeful season continues as they drop points once again in the Premier League. United's season so far has been a never-ending tale of disappointments, with the opening win against Chelsea the only bright spot.
Steve Bruce's Newcastle United stunned the Red Devils at St. James Park, as 19-year-old Matthew Longstaff scored on his Premier League debut to claim all three points for The Magpies.
The Red Devils has again lacked ideas going forward, and their best chance of the encounter fell to Harry Maguire in the 44th minute, with his header just missing the mark from six yards out.
Both sides had a couple of opportunities, but few hit the target. However, in the 72nd minute, a counter-attack led to Jetro Willems passing to Longstaff who blasted the ball into the bottom left corner from 20 yards out.
Newcastle recorded their first home victory this season in what was Steve Bruce's 400th Premier League match as a manager.
Manchester United fell to 12th, one point ahead of Newcastle who rose to 16th on eight points. In this article, we analyse the reasons why Man Utd fell short in the encounter.
#3 Sluggish display from Manchester United
It's been a familiar sight all season, with Manchester United failing to break down teams when given ample time on the ball. In this game, the Red Devils once again seemed clueless in possession, with a lot of misplaced passes and tame efforts on goal.
Marcus Rashford, in particular, seemed disconnected for much of the game, with little or no urgency in his play. There was a glaring lack of creativity in the middle of the park, with Man Utd's attacking manoeuvres predictable more often than not.
United had a total of 12 shots, with just three on target. They also had a lot of possession, as they had the ball for 69 per cent of the game but couldn't capitalise on those numbers.