Manchester United 4-1 Newcastle United: 3 Reasons Why the Red Devils won | Premier League 2019-20

#2 Newcastle incessantly shoot themselves in the foot

Manchester United were aided massively by Newcastle

Newcastle came into the encounter on the back of a relatively decent run of form, which also included a stirring 2-2 draw with Manchester City. Thus, plenty expected the Magpies to ruffle a few feathers at Old Trafford, although they were still labelled underdogs.

At the outset, the visitors underlined their credentials excellently as they executed their game-plan to the tee. They sat back, invited United to commit men forward and then broke at pace. Consequently, they surged ahead when M. Longstaff arrowed the ball into the bottom corner following another swift counter attack.

However, minutes after nudging ahead, the Magpies shot themselves in the foot as Dubravka allowed a routine strike from Martial to elude him at the near post.

In the 36th minute, Newcastle pushed the self-destruct button again as Fabian Schar presented Greenwood a chance on a platter. The latter capitalized and ensured that United led before half-time.

The propensity of digging holes for themselves continued after the break too as Sean Longstaff’s wretched back-pass fell enormously short of the goalkeeper and in turn, fell into the path of Martial. The Frenchman proceeded towards goal and cleverly dinked the ball over the onrushing keeper.

The past couple of months have seen Newcastle establish themselves as a tough nut to crack, especially against the traditionally stronger outfits. Yet, on Thursday, the Magpies embodied the Boxing Day and Christmas spirit, meaning that they offered a gift too many at Old Trafford.