Manchester United 3-2 Newcastle United: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis| Premier League 2018-19

#3 Some more changes at the halftime

Fellaini created some unrest in the opposition's box

Despite being down by two goals, United were looking threatening in the first half too. They were making some right moves, but a major portion of the half was a bit disjointed as such. Marcus Rashford missed a sitter and Anthony Martial’s poor touch meant that they missed two glorious opportunities to cut down the opposition’s lead in the first half itself.

After the halftime whistle, Mourinho was looking animated as he ran off to the tunnel and asked his coaching staff to join in quickly. It became evident that he was keen to turn things around.

Moreover, the players were sent out on the pitch two minutes earlier as Marouane Fellaini came in for McTominay. Fellaini’s arrival usually means that United would hoof the ball up to him and it becomes a predictable approach while chasing games.

However, Fellaini donned various roles and one of them was to keep the opposition’s centre-halves engaged so that Lukaku drifts wider and accordingly the whole frontline became more fluid.

United was playing with a newfound aggression, dominance and grit in the second half. Mourinho instructed them to commit bodies ahead with only Smalling remaining as the recognized centre-half.

Also, the fullbacks took advanced positions and the main objective was to put the ball inside the box. Anthony Martial played with a renewed swagger as he tamed the defenders and dribbled his way inside the box.

He was direct, creative and capable of playing one-touch on the move. Pogba started off as a centre-back, but as United moved ahead, he committed forward and accordingly operated as a floater eventually. He was doing his defensive work diligently but United’s assertiveness meant that the Frenchman often found him at the edge of the box.

Martial was given the freedom to play across the box, often shifting to the center to look for spaces and run at it. So, with just one central defender, United started their venture of bagging three goals to notch three points at home.