Positives from Newcastle United's defeat at Old Trafford
Manchester United completely outplayed Newcastle United at Old Trafford, as the Red Devils convincingly won the game 4-1. Newcastle took a surprising lead through Dwight Gayle who slotted the ball past De Gea, becoming the first player to beat the Spaniard at Old Trafford this season.
However, goals from Anthony Martial, Chris Smalling, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku helped United continue their winning streak at home.
Despite a poor scoreline, few of the Newcastle United players impressed with their performances in the game, prompting a quick look at some positives that the Magpies can take back with them:
DeAndre Yedlin continues to impress
DeAndre Yedlin, who had previously made an excellent start to the season, continued to impress as he put on a quality performance against Manchester United. His work rate on the pitch was again phenomenal, as he covered the whole pitch on the right throughout the game.
Yedlin's blistering pace was the reason for Newcastle's opener as he sprinted past several United defenders to get to the ball and then set-up a pass to Dwight Gayle within the penalty area, who calmly slotted the ball past De Gea.
The American full-back made several attacking runs down the right flank but was rarely spotted by his teammates who failed to pass the ball to him. With the work rate he is putting on the pitch, the youngster can surely grow as one of the best full-backs in the league if he continues to carry on his form.
Dwight Gayle's return to goalscoring form
Dwight Gayle, who was Newcastle United's top scorer last season in the Championship, has returned to goal scoring ways as he scored his first goal of the season yesterday.
Rafa Benitez switched back to his 4-2-3-1 approach and chose to play Gayle as the number-10, instead of opting for Ayoze Perez, who has played the majority of games in that role.
The 27-year-old justified his selection as he showed great awareness in the box to calmly receive the ball from the right side and slot it past diving De Gea. This goal would have surely increased the confidence level of the striker who will look to carry on this performance in future games.
Shelvey's crisp passes
Jamaal Lascelles' injury meant that Jonjo Shelvey had to take the leadership responsibility who produced one of his finest performances in this season. A switch to 4-2-3-1 shifted Shelvey to his natural CDM position from the CM role that he played in the last game.
Shelvey, who made a decent a start to the season, continued to impress with his crisp passing.
While his counterpart Isaac Hayden struggled to perform, Shelvey supplied several delicious passes upfront. One of his best moment came in the first half when his accurate through ball split the United's defence to find the feet of Jacob Murphy who placed the ball narrowly wide of the post.
Hence, Manchester United's 4-1 win didn't mean that Magpies were necessarily poor, but it is just that United were too good with their play. With the return of Christian Atsu, Mikel Merino and their skipper Jamaal Lascelles, the Magpies, bolstered by the aforementioned positives, can certainly produce positives results in the upcoming games.