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Out-of-favor star Edinson Cavani came to Manchester United’s rescue as they huffed and puffed to a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United in the Premier League. Ralf Rangnick’s visitors were the out-and-out favorites against relegation-threatened Newcastle United, but failed to impose their authority on Monday night.
The draw has left Manchester United in seventh position, seven points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal, with a couple of games in hand.
Newcastle, who had lost their previous three Premier League matches, silenced the away supporters with the opener in the seventh minute. Allan Saint-Maximin made the most of Manchester United’s horrid defending to put the home team ahead.
Despite conceding the early goal, Manchester United were unable to reorganize themselves and were being exposed by Newcastle’s clever movements. David de Gea made some stunning saves to keep United in the contest.
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In the second half, Rangnick turned to Edinson Cavani for inspiration and the Uruguayan happily obliged. He gave Manchester United the edge when going forward. His efforts finally paid off in the 71st minute when he stabbed the ball home from 12 yards to restore parity for the Red Devils.
Newcastle United were left to rue their missed chances as Manchester United undeservingly avoided defeat at St. James’ Park.
Here are the five Manchester United players who thoroughly underperformed in their stalemate with Newcastle United on Monday night:
#5 Marcus Rashford
Ralf Rangnick deployed Marcus Rashford in a deeper position against Newcastle United, possibly to make him a bit more involved in the game.
Not only did he fail to get involved for the most part, but he also lacked the sharpness usually associated with him.
Except for the excellent through ball to Alex Telles in the 75th minute, Rashford did very little to justify his place in the starting XI.
The England international was even scolded by Cristiano Ronaldo for squandering a Manchester United counter-attack.
#4 Harry Maguire
A couple of decent performances later, Harry Maguire was back to square one. The Manchester United skipper looked shaky as ever against a spirited Newcastle United side and was easily undone by Saint-Maximin’s movement.
Maguire allowed the Newcastle star to see the inside of De Gea’s goal and Saint-Maximin wasn’t going to miss the opportunity to make him pay.
The seventh-minute goal should have served as a wake-up call for the Englishman, but his performance hardly improved from there.
#3 Raphael Varane
Manchester United signed Raphael Varane from Real Madrid to add steel to their shaky defense. The Frenchman is more than capable of offering that to his new employers, but injuries have not allowed him to properly settle in yet.
In Premier League action for the first time since October, Varane was always going to struggle to find his footing. However, it was his uncharacteristic and rash decision-making that let him down against an electrifying Newcastle United side.
The 2018 World Cup winner overcommitted himself in the seventh minute and was easily dispossessed by Sean Longstaff. The midfielder quickly fed the ball to Saint-Maximin, who easily cast Maguire aside to put Newcastle United ahead.
The Magpies did not manage to add to their tally over the course of the night, but that was purely down to their wayward finishing. Varane did nothing to make life difficult for Newcastle on Monday night.
#2 Fred
Fred was one of the first names on the teamsheet under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, as the former Manchester United manager valued the Brazilian’s tireless nature. Fred has managed to maintain his place in the team under Rangnick as well under the same pretense.
Fred’s work rate was commendable against Newcastle United as well, but the Brazil international needed to do a lot more against the struggling hosts. His distribution was poor and offered nothing to the Manchester United forwards. Newcastle easily breached his resistance and were cutting the visitors open at will.
Rangnick understood the threat his team were under and rightly subbed out Fred at half-time in place of Jadon Sancho.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo made his second Manchester United debut against Newcastle United in front of a packed Old Trafford back in September. He was adjudged the Man of the Match that day, courtesy of his double against the struggling visitors.
Last night it was his turn to be frustrated and infuriated. The Portuguese superstar was easily and comprehensively isolated by Newcastle midfielders and defenders, which neutralized the number 7’s offensive threat.
He tried to drop deep to get a feel for the ball, but gave it away far too easily. Over the course of the match, he took only 37 touches and lost possession nine times.
He whined and moaned about wasted counter-attacks and lost chances, but failed to take matters into his own hands. In the 57th minute, Ronaldo committed a reckless and dangerous challenge on Ryan Fraser.
The Portugal skipper saw a yellow for his challenge, which could have easily been a red on any other day of the week.
