Manchester United were keen to return to winning ways this weekend after a frustrating Champions League draw with Galatasaray on Wednesday. But they had to endure further disappointment as they fell to a 1-0 defeat at Newcastle United in the Premier League.
The Magpies dominated the St James’ Park encounter and deservedly took the lead through Anthony Gordon in the second-half. That goal was ultimately sufficient to deliver Newcastle their second successive top-flight victory.
Below we look at the three United players who are mainly responsible for the disappointing 1-0 loss at St James’ Park.
Rashford has been struggling for form this season, netting just two goals in his first 13 league matches. But yesterday saw one of his worst performances of the campaign.
The 26-year-old offered no attacking threat and was slack in defence. He offered Aaron Wan-Bissaka no protection, failing to track Tino Livramento on several occasions. The forward only had 22 touches, made no key pass, had no shots on target and completed only 65 percent of his passes. He lost possession on nine occasions and won only one of his five ground duels.
Erik ten Hag made the surprising decision to start Anthony Martial in place of Rasmus Hojlund but the Frenchman completely failed to justify his manager’s call. The 27-year-old offered almost nothing in attack, and Ten Hag even came and berated him at one point in the first-half.
During his 61 minutes on the pitch, Martial only had 18 touches, with no key passes, crosses or long balls to his name. He won just one of his six aerial duels and lost possession on six occasions. His passing accuracy was 69 percent.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka did a brilliant job to keep Wilfried Zaha at bay on Wednesday. But he wasn’t as effective against Newcastle yesterday. The 26-year-old was guilty of napping when Gordon scored the decisive goal in the 55th minute of the game.
Wan-Bissaka made three clearances and two tackles on Saturday, but he also lost possession on 14 occasions. The right-back had 44 touches, while his passing accuracy was only 66 percent.
Stats from Sofascore.com
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