Newcastle United 3-3 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points

Left-back Paul Dummett celebrates after levelling late in the gameWhat was heavily speculated to be just another boring 0-0 draw between two clubs struggling for goals turned out to be a Premier League classic, as Newcastle United and Man United shared the spoils in a 6-goal thriller at St. James Park. Wayne Rooney’s debatable penalty and Jesse Lingard’s slotted finish put the visitors 2-0 up before Georginio Wijnaldum brought a goal back for the Magpies just before half-time. A totally avoidable penalty conceded by Chris Smalling was converted by forward Aleksandar Mitrovic to level matters midway through the second half. Wayne Rooney’s unstoppable strike looked to have sealed the points for the Red Devils in the 79th minute, but left-back Paul Dummett’s deflected goal in the 90th minute ensured that Newcastle arrested their run of 4 straight defeats to get their bid for Premier League survival back on track.Let’s observe some of the talking points which primarily defined how the game unfolded on Tuesday night:

#1 A game which defines the Premier League

Paul Dummett deflected strike in the 90th minute rescued a well-deserved point for Newcastle in a Premier League classic

The Premier League is widely touted as the best league across the globe – and this game absolutely lived up to that reputation. After a poor start, the game opened up – both sides throwing everything at each other – creating chance after chance and testing both goalkeepers. All credit to Newcastle though, who could have decided to keep the score down after going behind 2-0. But they kept their belief intact and put in a terrific attacking second-half performance to unsettle the Man United defence and deny them from grabbing all three points in what turned out to be an encounter for the archives.

#2 Rooney\'s best game in an eternity

Wayne Rooney returned to his belligerent best, scoring twice and assisting the third to engineer a much-improved attacking display by Man United

Red Devils captain Wayne Rooney’s struggles this season has been a major talking point, but last night’s performance showed that the 30-year old still possesses the striker’s instinct required to play at the highest level. Apart from his brilliant strike in the second half, he played an integral role in leading Man United’s counter-attacks – including a reverse-pass to assist Jesse Lingard for his finish to put Man United 2-0 up. He also won a handful of ground duels against Fabricio Coloccini and strung some good passes together to make it a memorable night at St. James Park for England’s all-time record goal-scorer.

#3 Aleksandar Mitrovic needs a partner upfront - Wijanldum plays that role perfectly

Wijnaldum’s shift in role to partner Mitrovic upfront worked wonders, as his goal just before half-time turned the tables in the Magpies’ favour

The first 30 minutes of the game saw the Magpies offering very little going forward – it was quite evident that forward Aleksandar Mitrovic playing as a lone striker in the attacking third was not working out for Steve McClaren. His height and aerial threat ensured that he would win most aerial duels against Daley Blind and bring the ball down, but he badly needed a partner alongside him to continue the attack.

Step up Georginio Wijnaldum. The Dutchman’s role to support Aleksandar Mitrovic worked wonders in the last 15 minutes of the first half, which eventually led to two glorious chances for the Geordies – both set up by the 21-year old Mitrovic – one which Wijnaldum shot straight at de Gea and the other which was neatly finished past the diving Spanish keeper. Steve McClaren must deploy a two-man strike attack for the remaining games if he wants to get the best out of his towering centre-forward.

#4 Man United finishing below par

Louis van Gaal was clearly unimpressed at his side’s poor finishing

Although Man United managed to find the back of the net thrice (for the first time since October), they will be ruing a plethora of missed opportunities to put the game to bed, something which eventually cost them 2 points. Wayne Rooney’s first half left-footed strike rolling past the wrong end of the post, Jesse Lingard ballooning over the bar with only goalkeeper Rob Elliot in sight and Marouane Fellaini’s header from 5 yards directed straight at Elliot were incidents which more or less summed up Man United’s season – countless build-ups without the finishing touch. Those misses even prompted a rare seething reactions from Louis van Gaal on the bench – reflecting his frustration at his side’s inability to shut the opposition out of the game.

#5 An off-day for Chris Smalling

Chris Smalling was just a mere shadow of his assured figure that has made him one of the Premier League’s best defenders this season

Even the best in the business can have a couple of low-key performances, and Chris Smalling – who has been a defensive stalwart for Man United this season – can be forgiven for having a red tick in Louis van Gaal’s book last night. His hot-headedness to wrestle Aleksandar Mitrovic to the ground to concede a needless penalty was typical of a scene out of American football. Apart from that, he always looked vulnerable at the back – getting repeatedly beaten by Mitrovic in the air while also leaving gaps for Ayoze Perez and Georginio Wijnaldum to create good goal-scoring opportunities in the second half. Man United will hope the 26-year old puts this performance behind him and returns fresher and more focused for the key game against arch-rivals Liverpool on Sunday.