Newcastle United 1-0 Manchester United: 5 Men who were poor for the Red Devils | Premier League 2019/20
Manchester United traveled to St. James Park knowing very well that a win could get their season back on track before the international break. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men had been shambolic in midweek against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League, where they could not manage a single shot on target in the entire game. United’s season has been turning from bad to worse, as the Red Devils had just 1 win in their last 5 games in all competitions. Solskjaer desperately needed all 3 points against Newcastle to turn the season around, but it was hardly going to be easy.
The Norwegian was missing Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial ahead of the trip, while Eric Bailly was a long term absentee. Newcastle United were languishing at the bottom half of the table and on paper, there was only one winner.
However, the Red Devils have developed a recent habit of squandering chances and had struggled to stamp their authority in the last few games. Solskjaer, as such, was wary of his opponents while naming his first eleven.
Manchester United starting XI: David de Gea; Diogo Dalot, Axel Tuanzebe, Harry Maguire, Ashley Young; Scott McTominay, Fred, Juan Mata; Daniel James, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Pereira.
United were the better team in the first half but failed to find a breakthrough. Newcastle then took the lead against the run of play in the 72nd minute through Matthew Longstaff. The Red Devils rallied till the end of the game, but could not summon an equaliser. Here are 5 players who were poor for Manchester United.
#5 Scott McTominay
The Scottish midfielder started alongside Fred as a part of the double pivot but failed to control the midfield. Scott McTominay was tasked with providing added security to the backline, but he was regularly caught out of position as Newcastle broke on the counter-attack. The Scottish midfielder was also poor with his passing, as he ended the game with a 77% passing success rate.
McTominay was also bullied in the middle, as he won only 38% of the aerial battles and had a 60% tackle success rate.