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MOTD: Manchester United 3-1 Newcastle United

By on December 26, 2014

The extreme twists and turns of the Premier League seem to have subsided, in part due to the extreme scheduling of fixtures. With sides set to play again in barely forty-eight hours, the intensity grinds teams down to their essence. The packed holiday season might be known for bringing the table shape back to reality for this very reason. Southampton and West Ham United are both slipping away from the top four as Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur have been rising, and Newcastle are now down to exactly mid-table after finding themselves in both the bottom and in the top four in just the past few months. So, if there is any a time to judge, it is now.

Specifically, it is Manchester United which seem to be cementing themselves back in the top four. Tonight they put on perhaps their most solid performance of the season, taking a 3-0 lead before Newcastle scored a late consolation from a penalty. They were hungry on the attack and sturdy at the back. But the most exciting fact for the Red Devils is that it is clear they can still improve. On paper their back four could improve tenfold over the transfer window, and considering David De Gea has been unstoppable behind them United could still rise to top of the league. The only way is up for United on current form. All the talk about Louis Van Gaal’s “philosophy”, seems lessened compared to the simple fact that he is successfully building a new team from scratch. He rejuvenated United in the summer transfer window. Once more players return from injury, including Daley Blind, Marouane Fellaini and Angel Di Maria, and he has signed some defenders, United could be back in contention for the title.

Falcao, just after hinting, or rather plainly stating that he is happy at United, was brilliant, and looked like he sincerely wanted to do his best in Red, both in making that extra stretch up front for an assist, and diving back to prevent a counter attack and spur a deadly counter-counter attack. Both situations actually happened today, though Newcastle were not without chances, and had a relatively easy time getting past United’s back three while De Gea was there. When Daryl Janmaat broke free from the back into the middle De Gea made a brilliant save to palm wide the Dutchman’s long range screamer, and up the other end United went. Robin Van Persie had come close wide earlier, and twenty-two minutes in Juan Mata dinked a sublime pass over the Newcastle defense to Falcao, who managed to squad it to Wayne Rooney on the slide, leaving the English a simple tap-in. Just ten minutes later, the same trio combined for a second. Falcao got back to prevent Newcastle from a counter-attack with a tackle, allowing Mata to break free and slip Rooney in down the left side of the box. Again, Rooney made no mistake as he tucked the ball into the bottom left corner.

United could have been penetrated had Newcastle been quicker and in better form, but up front there was only positives. Their attack worked well together, and everything was there from the possession to the decisive pass to the finish. On the other side of the half, just fifty-three minutes in, Van Persie effectively put the game to bed as he got in-between Janmaat and Steven Taylor to header Rooney’s floated diagonal ball into the far corner of the goal. In the second half even more so than the first, it was all United, who had far too much room in the middle and effective in defense. De Gea was forced into one late kick-save from a tight angled shot, and Newcastle did find an eighty-fifth minute consolation as Phil Jones stuck a leg out to bring Jack Coleback down inside his own penalty area – Papiss Demba Cisse buried an unstoppable penalty – yet those are areas of United’s squad that can still be improved on. Aside from a few defensive mishaps, most of which De Gea covered for, it was a flawless game for United. And Newcastle, on the other hand, didn’t look terrible themselves, but simply outclassed. The Premier League seems to be headed back to normal.
Man of the Match: Radamel Falcao

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.