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In scenes reminiscent of the best periods under Sir Alex Ferguson, Manchester United sparked a wonderful come from behind victory to triumph 3-2 over Newcastle at Old Trafford having been two goals down at half-time.
The match was characterized by everything a Manchester United fixture should have, guts, glory, intensity and the never say die attitude which has been lacking at Manchester United in recent years.
Manchester United began the match in their usual dour, flat and uninspiring tempo which fans have become accustomed to, so it, therefore, came as no surprise when United found themselves 2 goals down inside 15 minutes, with some comical defending being shown.
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The Red Devils have not won at Old Trafford since the opening day, and many around the world would have believed that this match was going to go according to recent scripts, but the players and managers had other ideas, with Mata, Martial and Sanchez scoring a goal each to complete the turnaround.
Jose Mourinho must be commended for his substitutions in the match, as every single one of them had an impact on proceedings, and scenes at the end of the match suggested that this could be the turn-around point of Jose Mourinho’s tenure.
The victory lifted United from 10th to 7th, and beyond just the three points, this victory has much more far-reaching consequences. Here are five reasons why this victory over Newcastle could bring back the glory days to Old Trafford.
#5 It might have saved Jose Mourinho’s job
Jose Mourinho has overseen one of the worst periods in Manchester United’s illustrious history, winless in four matches, and dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Championship side Derby County. Lying in 10th position on the league, United had made the worst start to a league campaign in 28 years, and there were loud calls from fans and pundits alike for Jose to be relieved off his duties as manager.
Heading into this match against Newcastle, speculations emerged that those calls were about to be heeded, as there were reports that the board had decided to part ways with the Portuguese tactician regardless of the outcome of the match.
The way Manchester United started the match all but signed Mourinho’s termination letter, as the performance was so shambolic that only the staunchest Mourinho fan would have behind him had United lost the match.
A lot of flake has been thrown the way of Jose in recent years, with his tactics and player selection coming in for heavy criticism, but today, Mourinho deserves special praise for the way he handled the situation despite the early setback.
He decided to replace Bailly with Mata on 18 minutes, as the Ivorian was responsible for both Newcastle goals with his slack defending and loss of concentration. While hauling of Scott McTomminay at half-time for Fellaini (in a bid not to damage the young player’s substitution with a first-half substitution), and his decisions paid off immediately, as United gained control of the match.
Later on, in the second half, Mourinho stood poised to substitute the much-maligned Martial, but changed his mind and took off Marcus Rashford (who had been guilty of missing gilt-edged chances), replacing him with Alexis Sanchez.
Both of Mourinho’s substitutes, Mata and Sanchez scored a goal, while Martial also contributed the second and Fellaini provided steel in midfield.
90 minutes before the start of the match, there were many United fans who wanted to see the back of Mourinho. However, come full-time, they were all United in singing his praises, and having been on the verge of losing his job, Jose Mourinho might have just begun the process of returning United to its previous heights with his tactical brilliance against Newcastle.
#4 It could bring out the best of Alexis Sanchez
Nine months on from completing his protracted transfer from Arsenal on deadline day in January, many fans around the world were questioning what the fuss over the Chilean was all about and were already considering him to be United flop.
Alexis had been the subject of a bidding war between City and United, with Guardiola’s men seemingly in pole position to sign him before being hijacked by their city rivals.
It says a lot about your abilities when arguably the best coach in the world goes all out to get you and two of the biggest clubs in England engage in a bidding war for your services, as Sanchez had proven to be one of the elite forwards in the league since his 2014 transfer to Arsenal.
However, since his transfer to United, the 29-year-old has seen his form dip, and the fact that he is the highest paid player in Premier League history only served to add more scrutiny to his performances. He had scored just three goals since his arrival at Old Trafford and had gone over 850 minutes without a league goal. He was yet to open his account this season and was heavily criticized for his constant dispossession in key areas for the Red Devils.
There were calls for him to be dropped from the starting line-up, and they were heeded, with the Chilean starting from the bench in recent weeks or not featuring altogether.
Alexis is a world-class performer, and he did not suddenly become a bad player. Sanchez’ ability remained the same, and he needed a defining performance to boost his confidence.
That performance came today against Newcastle, as Sanchez was on hand to nod home Fellaini’s cross deep into stoppage time to mark wild celebration scenes at Old Trafford.
The joy of relief was sprawled across Sanchez’ face, and you could sense the feeling that this could mark the start of a revival in his United career.
Manchester United signed a superb player who they hoped would continue the legacy of the legendary number 7 jersey at Old Trafford, but so far, it hasn’t panned out to plan, but with his statement winner against Newcastle, the tides might just have turned in the favor of Sanchez to live up to expectation.
#3 It would get the fans believing once again
Manchester United was once the premier club in England, and one of the biggest in the world, as under Ferguson, the club won a plethora of titles and delivered exciting football that bonded the club’s fans with it and gave them a swagger and confidence to believe their club was invincible.
This period of dominance lasted for over two decades, and Old Trafford was one of the most daunting places to visit in England.
After Ferguson retired in 2013, nobody expected United’s dominance to remain the same, as the Scotsman's influence over the club was so far-reaching that whoever stepped into his shoes was always going to have a tough job.
However, nobody believed the club would have it this bad, as under David Moyes, Louis Van Gaal and Jose Mourinho, the club has descended to such lows that hadn’t been seen in almost half a century.
The swagger had departed United, and opposing teams played the Mancunians believing they could get something, as the Red Devils had lost their fear factor.
The consequent effect was that the fans disconnected with the club, as a series of bad decisions at boardroom level, coupled with the bad results and boring football on the field of play left the supporters disoriented with the direction the club was heading in.
Attendance levels have been dropping and there were many who had started heading for the exits when United started their unbelievable comeback victory over Newcastle.
The scenes at full-time were indicative of what this victory meant to the club, as there was a general uplift in the atmosphere with fans united in their chants of ‘Glory Glory Man United’.
The players gave salutes to the fans at full-time in recognition of the hard times they’ve made them go through, with Paul Pogba, in particular, being the most vocal, going around the field in a victory lap and throwing his jersey to the fans.
Manchester United’s fans have been through a lot in recent years, but their unison at full-time of this comeback victory showed that the players understood what it meant to represent United, and proved that the fans have always believed that the glory days could return to United once more.
#2 It would bring back the fear factor and never-say-die attitude to Old Trafford
Under Sir Alex Ferguson, United gained a reputation of being hard not to crack, and always having never losing their belief in any match.
There are numerous examples of matches where United were seemingly down and out, but rallied from behind to snatch victories from the jaws of defeat, with the Champions League final against Bayern in 1999 where they were a goal down with one minute remaining but triumphed in injury time to win the cup is the most famous.
This cold-hearted belief and never-say-die attitude led to the coinage of the term ‘Fergie Time’, referring to the dying embers of a match where United usually came from behind and meant that opposing teams never took a victory for granted no matter how comfortable their position was.
Since their legendary manager’s departure, the reverse has been the case, as United have been lacking in spine and confidence to snatch victory from defeat.
Whenever they went behind, heads were always quick to drop and there were never indications in their play to suggest that they could play their way back to victory.
When United went two goals behind to Newcastle, anybody would have been forgiven for thinking it would be one of those days, but the performance in the last periods where United scored three goals in the final 20 minutes were reminiscent of Fergie Time.
With this come from behind victory, opposing clubs would once more begin to take note of United’s resilience much like it was in the old days and how it is supposed to be at a club the stature of Manchester United.
#1 This was Pogba’s statement performance
Pogba was one of the highest rated midfielders in the world at Juventus and made it to the FIFPro XI for 2015 following his performances to lead Juventus to a domestic double and the Champions League final.
He completed a then world record transfer to United in 2016 and sought about making a name for himself at the club having departed in acrimonious circumstances as a teenager in 2012.
Since then, Pogba has failed to fully win over supporters, with most critical of his lackadaisical and inconsistent performances.
Pogba has the ability to be one of the premier players in the world, and on occasion showed his talent on the field, but the problem was he was perceived to be too inconsistent to be the driving force of United’s play on the field, as he could follow up a world-class performance one week with an abject showing the next week.
He fell out with manager Mourinho last season, being dropped for key matches of the season, and there were indications that the World Cup winner was set to depart the club with Barcelona and PSG being reported destinations.
As it happened, he did not leave, but he failed to fully commit his future to Old Trafford, revealing cryptic interviews that showed all was not well within the club.
Footages emerged showing the extent of hostility between him and Mourinho, and reports suggested he was the ringleader of a rebellious group of United players who were keen to see the manager go.
A key criticism of Pogba has been his lack of leadership on the field, as fans and pundits expected him to lead on the field of play due to his status as one of the marquee names in the dressing room.
Against Newcastle, Pogba was at his marauding best, stepping up his game after his club went two goals behind and demanding the ball to be played to him to affect proceedings.
The 25-year-old was the fulcrum through which United’s plays went, and he took charge of the match by forcing the game to Newcastle.
He was everywhere, taking long range shots, issuing instructions to his teammates, and it was his exquisite backheel to Martial which paved the way for the 21-year-old to score United's second goal.
Pogba's celebrations with the fans at full-time was indicative, as it was almost like he was telling them that this is my stage now, and I am the man to lead our great club into the future.
