Match report: Man United 4-1 Newcastle United
Our chief football correspondent Daniel Taylor was at Old Trafford for the Guardian and here is his on-the-whistle report on a fine win for the home side.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic speaks
In his post-match interview with BT Sport, Zlatan asks if there was ever any doubt in his head that he might recover from his knee injury: “No, never. Because lions don’t recover like humans.” While veterinary surgeons might disagree and it’s not a particularly funny line, Paul Pogba and Des Kelly react like they’ve just seen Del Boy fall through the open hatch of the bar for the first time.
A great night for Manchester United: Things could scarcely have gone better for Jose Mourinho tonight. The Manchester United manager welcomed back Paul Pogba from injury and the midfielder put in a man-of-the-match performance during his 70 minutes on the field. Pogba scored one, created another and showed no signs whatsoever of ring-rustiness as he took the game to Newcastle for well over an hour.
Chris Smalling, Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku were also among the goals on an evening when Martial, Lukaku and Marcus Rashford looked delighted to be playing with each other on a rare night that all three started in the same team. There was little or no shame in defeat for Newcastle, who took a surprise but throughly deserved lead through Marcus Gayle. They were outclassed by a Manchester United side that was in simply irresistible form. Better teams than Newcastle will get beaten by Manchester United if they continue playing like this.
Full-time: Man Utd 4-1 Newcastle United
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeep! It’s all over at Old Trafford, where Manchester United have come from behind to win emphatically against Newcastle United.
90+1 min: It’s Elliot to the rescue again, saving from Maroune Fellaini after Herrera had crossed from the byline.
90 min: Close, but no cigar for Zlatan, who has a kung-fu kick volley saved by Rob Elliot. Corner for Manchester United.
88 min: Marcus Rashford picks up the ball on the byline and sends in a cross. The ball goes out for a goal-kick. With their team being comfortably beaten, Newcastle’s fans are out-singing their Manchester United counterparts at the moment.
85 min: The game has died something of a death, given Manchester United’s unassailable lead and all those substitutions.
82 min: It’s shaping up to be a wonderful night on the PR front for Jose Mourinho, whose team has looked irresistible going forward in giving the Old Trafford faithful the kind of swashbuckling football they crave. Getting to send Zlatan back into action is an added bonus in terms of giving the people what they want. He makes his final substitution: Ander Herrera on for Juan Mata. Marcos Rojo will have to wait for his return from injury.
80 min: In a substitution that was rather overshadowed by the introduction of Zlatan, Newcastle made their third change of the game at the same time. Dwight Gale off, Mohamed Diame on.
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79 min: Great effort from Jonjo Shelvey, who goes close with a curling effort from distance that looked bound for the bottom right-hand corner. It fizzes inches wide of the upright.
78 min: Manchester United substitution: Anthony Martial off, Zlatan Ibrahimovic on after seven months out with a cruciate injury.
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75 min: Newcastle substitutions I haven’t got around to telling you about yet: Rolando Aarons and Aleksandar Mitrovic on for Matt Ritchie and Joselu.
73 min: Lukaku scores his first goal in seven appearances for Manchester United and is swamped by team-mates eager to congratulate him for ending his drought at club level. A one-two with Nemanja Matic on the edge of the box enabled him to take the ball past Florian Lejeune. He could see the whites of Rob Elliot’s eyes as he picked his spot before blasting the ball high down the centre.
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Goal! Man United 4-1 Newcastle (Lukaku 71)
Romelu Lukaku smashes the ball past Rob Elliot to crush any faint hopes Newcastle had of getting back in this game.
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70 min: Man Utd substitution: Paul Pogba off, Marouane Fellaini on.
67 min: Chris Smalling is booked for a foul on Isaac Hayden. Referee Craig Pawson played the advantage and did well: it allowed Josh Murphy to try his luck with a curling effort towards the corner that brought a save out of David De Gea.
64 min: More desperate defending from Newcastle as DeAndre Yedlin clears the danger for Newcastle. Newcastle get the ball up the field and Jonjo Shelvey goes on a driving 40-yard run that takes him through the right side of the Manchester United penalty area to the byline. As he shapes to cross, his standing leg goes from under him, the ball runs wide and he slips to the ground prompting raucous laughter from the Manchester United fans behind the goal.
62 min: Manchester United win another corner with DeAndre Yedlin forced to put the ball out of play as Newcastle find themselves under the cosh again. United’s players are having an absolute ball here, pouring forward in droves as they attempt to pile the hurt on visitors who were impertinent enough to take an early lead.
61 min: Just past the hour mark and Newcastle are in complete disarray. They defended reasonably diligently with two banks of four in the first half, but have now completely lost their discipline and, more importantly, shape.
59 min: Lukaku gallops up the left wing and with Rashford calling for the ball in acres of space, sends in a cross that’s too far in front of his young strike partner.
57 min: Manchester United win three corners in quick succession. Pogba goes close at the second, before DeAndre Yedlin and Jonjo Shelvey combine effectively to clear the lines for Newcastle at the third. Having done so well in the first half, Newcastle are being over-run now.
55 min: That was a wonderful goal, as good as you’ll see on the breakaway. Romelu Lukaku galloped down the right touchline with the ball at his feet. He sent in a cross to find Marcus Rashford at the far post and his cushioned header to Pogba, who had galloped almost the length of ther pitch in support, was perfectly weighted. He could scarcely miss from three yards out and marks his return from injury with a goal.
GOAL! Man Utd 3-1 Newcastle (Pogba 54)
Paul Pogba taps in from close range to end a wonderful move from Manchester United on the counter-attack.
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52 min: Manchester United continue to dominate. Martial beats two players down the inside left and over-hits a cross towards the far post when he perhaps should have held the ball up.
49 min: Manchester United win a throw-in deep in Newcastle territory. The ball’s chucked towards Pogba, who picks out Lukaku with a clever pass towards the byline. Lukaku crosses to Martial at the near post, but the Frenchman’s control lets him down and he slips. Lukaku and Pogba share a giggle at the hilarity of it all.
47 min: Anthony Martial gets the ball on the inside left channel. He plays it to Pogba, who chips the ball in behind the Newcastle defence. Without even looking, Marcus Rashford flicks it across the edge of the six-yard box towards Lukaku, prompting a good interception from Rob Elliot in the Newcastle goal.
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Second half: Man United 2-1 Newcastle United
46 min: Manchester United get the second half started, leading 2-1. There are no changes in personnel on either side at the start of this second half.
Some half-time reading ...
In a wide-ranging interview to coincide with the launch of a film about his life, Kenny Dalglish opens up about the tragedies of Hillsborough and Heysel but also the joys of football at Liverpool and Blackburn. Words: Donald McRae.
Half-time: Man United 2-1 Newcastle United
Having gone a goal behind after Dwight Gayle gave Newcastle an unexpected lead, Manchester United have overturned their deficit with headed goals from Anthony Martial and Chris Smalling. It’s been an entertaining match at Old Trafford, here’s hoping for more of the same in the second half.
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45+3 min: Newcastle concede two fairly similar goals after their great start. Isaac Hayden goes close to making things all square after a probing run that ends with him shooting straight at David De Gea. The Manchester United goalkeeper is unable to hold on to the ball, which breaks to Matt Ritchie. His low drive arrows towards Gayle, who is unable to react quickly enough to steer the ball on target. A ball that could have gone anywhere fizzes inches wide of the upright.
GOAL! Man United 2-1 Newcastle (Smalling 45)
Manchester United take the lead, with Chris Smalling powering a downwards header past Rob Elliot after rising high to get on the end of a splendid Ashley Young delivery from the left.
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45 min: There are loud cries for a penalty as Romelu Lukaku has the shirt almost pulled off his back by Ciaran Clark in the Newcastle penalty area. He doesn’t get one.
44 min: The ball breaks for Jonjo Shelvey about 20 yards from the Manchester United goal. He shoots straight at David DeGea with a sweet left foot.
43 min: Shelvey plays the ball wide to Josh Murphy on the right flank. With Mata and Young appealing for a throw-in that never comes, the Newcastle winger plays to the whistle and passes to DeYedlin. Smalling averts the danger with a meaty challenge.
42 min: Nothing comes from the corner, but from a position of relative comfort, Newcastle seem to be in something of a mini-meltdown after conceding that goal.
39 min: Joselu comes perilously close to looping a header over Elliot and into his own net while attempting to block a cross from Ashley Young. A corner for United and relief on the face of Joselu.
38 min: That was a great assist from Paul Pogba, who had the ball on the right flank and took his time before shaking off Hayden and sending in a cross. Anthony Martial got the jump on a static DeAndre Medlin at the back post to send a powerful header past Elliot into the bottom left-hand corner.
GOAL! Man United 1-1 Newcastle United (Martial 37)
It’s all square at Old Trafford, with Anthony Martial climbing high to head into the bottom corner after getting on the end of a Paul Pogba cross.
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36 min: Elliot is passed fit to continue, for the time being at least.
34 min: Rob Elliot gathers the ball after Nemanja Matic picked out Antonio Valencia with a cross-field pass to the byline. Elliot goes to ground after colliding with Manquillo in his attempts to grab the ball and there’s a break in play as he gets treatment on his left hip.
31 min: Juan Mata is penalised for high feet as he catches FLorian Lejeune on the head as he attempts an overhead kick. At 5ft 7in, Mata’s feet don’t really go particularly high, but Lejeune had ducked into the challenge and can’t really complain about shipping an instep to the crown of his head.
30 min: Ciaran Clark and Forian Lejeune come up for the corner, which Matt Ritchie takes. Manchester United clear and break on the counter after Josh Murphy gives away the ball for the second time. To his credit, he tracks back judiciously to help win it back.
29 min: DeAndre Yedlin gets forward again, but is crowded off the ball before he can unleash a cross. The ball breaks to Shelvey, who wins a corner for Newcastle.
28 min: Manchester United are enjoying the lion’s share of possession, 63% of it in fact, but not in areas that will overly concern Newcastle.
25 min: Victor Lindelof floats a delightful ball into the Newcastle penalty area, where Romelu Lukaku stretches every sinew in his effort to keep the ball down. He’s not quite tall enough.
24 min: A replay of Newcastle’s goal shows that DeAndre Yedlin deserves immense credit for his assist. He beat three or four Manchester United players in a rampaging run up the right touchline before cutting inside and teeing up Gayle, whose shot went in off the foot of the upright.
22 min: Newcastle continue to dominate. Isaac Hayden flicks the ball up for Matt Ritchie in a good position, but his goalward header is blocked. Dwight Gayle was lying injured in the United penalty earlier after an earlier collision and won’t thank Ritchie for trampling all over his prone body as he attempted to get his head to that ball.
21 min: Newcastle win a free-kick just inside the Manchester United half and Matt Ritchie pumps the ball forward. Manchester United clear their lines.
19 min: Crikey! More good play from Newcastle, with Jonjo Shelvey threading a fantastic pass forward to Murphy, who pulls a low diagonal effort a foot wide of the far upright. A mix-up between Chris Smalling and Ashley Young allowed that Shelvey pass to find it’s way to Murphy. Manchester United are in all sorts of bother in these early stages.
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18 min: Manchester United’s players nad supporters look a little shell-shocked after conceding for the first time in the Premier League at home this season. Newcastle embark on a counter-attack which breaks down when Jacob Murphy fails to pick out Matt Ritchie, who was in a position to shoot and screaming for the ball.
15 min: Dwight Gayle fires into the bottom left-hand corner from about 12 yards out, taking advantage of a slip by Victor Lindelof to stroke home a DeAndre Yedlin pull-back from the byline. Newcastle had four men queuing up to convert that cross and Manchester United’s defending was atrocious. On first view it looks like David De Gea might have done better too.
GOAL! Man Utd 0-1 Newcastle (Gayle 14)
Newcastle take the lead at Old Trafford.
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13 min: That’s Isaac Hayden’s fifth booking of the season, so he’ll be forced to sit Newcastle’s next match out on the totting up procedure.
12 min: Isaac Hayden takes one for the team, picking up a booking for a foul on Juan Mata as Manchester United threatened on the break.
10 min: Newcastle win a corner, which Matt Ritchie sends towards Florian Lejeune. Ashley Young puts the ball out for a corner on the other side of the pitch. Shelvey takes this one and aims for Ciaran Clark, who’s in for the injured Jamaal Lascelles. Clark makes a mess of his header.
9 min: Anthony Martial picks up a pass from Paul Pogba and sends a cross towards Lukaku from the left flank. It’s too high. Manchester United have lined up with Martial on the left of the three behind Lukaku, Rashford on the right and Juan Mata operating in the centre.
8 min: Wonderful play from Antonio Valencia, who flicks on the afterburners and gallops down the right flank in pursuit of a weighted pass inside Manquillo from Rashford. He pulls a cross into the centre, where Romelu Lukaku fires high over the bar.
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7 min: Javier Manquillo is penalised for a foul on Marcus Rashford.
4 min: Manchester United play the ball out from the back taking an age to get it out of their own half. After about 30 consecutive passes between assorted Manchester United players inside their own half, Paul Pogba lofts a cross-field seven-iron across the halfway line and gifts possession back to Newcastle.
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3 min: Newcastle win a free-kick not too far from the halfway line and the ball’s pumped forward. Dwight Gayle is penalised for offside.
2 min: Newcastle win a throw-in deep in Manchester United territory after a lazy attempt by David De Gea to flick the ball towards Victor Lindelof. Making his first start in the Premier League for Manchester United, the centre-half chases the ball but is unable to prevent it going out of play.
Man United v Newcastle United is go ...
1 min: Newcastle kick off. A goal-shy team, they hope to be the first to score against their hosts at Old Trafford in the Premier League this season.
Not long now ...
The teams march out of the Old Trafford tunnel and line up either side of referee Craig Pawson and his team of match officials. Antonio Valencia wears the Manchester United captain’s armband, while Jonjo Shelvey skippers Newcastle.
Manchester United need a win ...
Victories for Manchester City and Chelsea earlier today mean that Manchester United are now 11 points off the Premier League pace set by their city rivals and two behind Antonio Conte’s side. Draws against opposition like Newcastle simply aren’t good enough if they’re to try to reel in Manchester City, who are looking less and likely to slip up.
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Jose Mourinho speaks ...
On the subject of Paul Pogba’s return: “He’s back and hopefully we can manage carefully the minutes he spends on the pitch,” say Manchester United’s manager in an interview with BT Sport smoothie Des Kelly.
Eric Bailly out, Victor Lindelof in: Jose says Eric Bailly is injured. Upon being asked if he’s frustrated that because Phil Jones got injured after playing an England friendly while injured and on six different painkilling injections, he says: “I have nothing more to say about that.” He does not look best pleased.
Jose Mourinho needs a performance
The Manchester United manager has been getting criticism for his team’s ponderous performances and has made something of a statement today by starting Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Romelu Lukaku in the same team. “I wonder who goes out right?” enquires Kritin Syal. “Also, Mata centrally?”
Pogba starts for Manchester United
Having been sidelined with a hamstring since Manchester United’s Champions League win over Basel in mid-September, Paul Pogba comes straight back into Jose Mourinho’s starting line-up. Out since April with serious knee injuries, Marcus Rojo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic are on the United bench today. In the Newcastle line-up, Jacob Murphy gets the nod in place of Christian Atsu today. His twin brother Josh scored for Norwich City against Barnsley today at Carrow Road, where the score is 1-1 as the match enters its closing stages.
Man United v Newcastle United line-ups
Man Utd: de Gea, Valencia, Lindelof, Smalling, Young, Pogba, Matic, Rashford, Mata, Martial, Lukaku.
Subs: Rojo, Ibrahimovic, Lingard, Romero, Ander Herrera, Shaw, Fellaini.
Newcastle: Elliot, Yedlin, Clark, Lejeune, Manquillo, Ritchie, Hayden, Shelvey, Murphy, Gayle, Joselu.
Subs: Diame, Aarons, Perez, Mbemba, Darlow, Jesus Gamez, Mitrovic.
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
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Early team news ...
Paul Pogba and Marcos Rojo have both recovered from injury and could start, despite lengthy spells on the sideline. ZLatan Ibrahimovic is also back from long term injury, but will sit on the bench. Having picked up a thigh injury while on England duty, Phil Jones will not feature today.
Meanwhile in the Newcastle camp, Jamaal Lascelles and Mikel Merrino are both injured. while Christian Atsu is also sidelined with a thigh injury he picked up in Newcastle’s defeat at the hands of Bournemouth just before the international break. He was subsequently called up by Ghana, only to be sent home after just one training session. ““It’s not that it’s their fault,” said Benitez when asked if Atsu had exacerbated his injury while on international duty. “It’s just something that happened.”
It's enemies reunited at Old Trafford ...
There’s little or no love lost between Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez, who meet in opposite technical areas for the first time in 10 years today. Since beating Crystal Palace on the final day of September, Manchester United have suffered league defeats at the hands of Huddersfield Town and Chelsea, while seeing off Tottenham Hotspur.
As speculation surrounding their future ownership rumbles on and on, Newcastle have won just one of their past six Premier League matches, a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace At St Jame’s Park. Showing a fragility against teams beginning with the letter ‘B’, they have lost 1-0 to Brighton, Burnley and Bournemouth, while recording draws with Liverpool and Southampton. Kick-off today is at 5.30pm, but stay tuned for team news and build-up.
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