Newcastle United 1-0 Manchester United: 3 Reasons why the Red Devils lost | Premier League 2019/20

#2 Notable absences

Manchester United's Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

The Red Devils began the season with a paper-thin squad, as marquee players like Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku were shipped out of Carrington, and Manchester United failed to buy suitable replacements. They are now suffering the effects of that blunder.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer went into the encounter without the likes of Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, two players integral to United's attacking manoeuvres.

United struggled to carve out opportunities in the absence of Pogba, and Marcus Rashford failed to lead the attack properly in the absence of a natural centre forward.

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#1 A brilliant finish from Matthew Longstaff

Newcastle United's Andy Carroll and Matthew Longstaff

"I found out I was in the team after training yesterday. Your belly starts to turn a bit, you get a bit nervous and then you don't sleep much.

"Last night you go to bed dreaming of it but you never really think it will happen. I'm over the moon."

• Matthew Longstaff

It was a fairy tale debut for 19-year-old Mathew Longstaff, as he started alongside his big brother Sean Longstaff at the heart of the Newcastle midfield. The youngster had a pretty decent game, with commendable offensive and defensive contributions.

However, his most notable impact was a scorcher in the 72nd-minute, with the youngster at the tail end of a swift Newcastle United counter-attack, as he fired home a shot from 20 yards out beyond the long-suffering David De Gea and into the bottom left corner of the goal.