Manchester United faced off against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park earlier tonight looking to continue their good run of form under Ole Gunnar Solskjær’s stewardship. Both sides had their fair share of chances in the first half but couldn’t manage to find the back of the net.
However, the second half was a different story as Romelu Lukaku came off the bench to score a tap-in from close range to give his side the all-important lead. Marcus Rashford doubled United’s advantage when he scored with a clever finish to put the contest to bed. The match finished 2-0 in favour of the Red Devils as they continued their push up the Premier League table with a good win at Tyneside.
Let’s take a look at how each Man United player performed during the match against the Magpies.
GK: David De Gea – 7/10
The Spanish keeper was hardly tested during the match. He kept a relatively easy clean sheet against a wasteful Newcastle attack.
RB: Antonio Valencia – 6/10
The veteran full-back lacked the cutting edge going forward but was a good outlet for the Red Devils down the right flank.
CB: Victor Lindelöf – 6/10
He distributed the ball well but was caught out in possession a few times during the clash.
CB: Phil Jones – 5/10
The English talent made some poor errors at the back, but to his credit, he managed to recover and stop the Magpies from scoring.
LB: Luke Shaw – 7/10
The United left-back was always looking to join in on the attack and was a real threat from the wide areas.
CM: Ander Herrera – 7.5/10
The Spanish midfielder was full of energy and running at the middle of the park but did not show enough on the pitch to earn an assist or a goal from this contest.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 6/10
The Serbian sensation shielded the United defence very effectively but offered very little going forward.
RM: Juan Mata – 6/10
The Spanish playmaker hardly created a chance in this match and needs more game time if he wants to perform at a high level on a consistent basis.
CAM: Paul Pogba – 6/10
The French midfielder was unlucky not to score on the night and made some poor errors in judgement which is why he failed to score or assist on the night.
LM: Anthony Martial – 6/10
He made a few fantastic runs from the wide areas but failed to come up with the final product in front of goal.
ST: Marcus Rashford – 8/10
The English international took his chance well in the second half to register his first goal of this calendar year. He looked like a proper threat all through the match in the Newcastle half.
Substitutes:
ST: Romelu Lukaku – 8/10
The Belgian showed great instincts to react the quickest and score from close range. Lukaku brought another dimension to United attack which was underperforming inside St. James’ Park.
CAM: Alexis Sanchez – 7/10
The Chilean talent picked up a handy assist from the game after coming off the bench to feature in the last 30 minutes of the match.
RM: Jesse Lingard – N/A
Not enough time to make an impact.
