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Manchester United suffered a second defeat to Newcastle United this season by a narrow 1-0 scoreline, enabling the Magpies to climb above them on Saturday. The Red Devils put out a flat performance for most of the encounter at St. James' Park, and the fans singled out Marcus Rashford for blame.
Newcastle United came into the match on the back of two morale-boosting results in the past week. They thrashed Chelsea 4-1 in front of their fans and nearly came away from the PSG with a famous win, were it not for a contentious late penalty.
Erik ten Hag's Manchester United failed to defeat Galatasaray in their last match and looked way off the pace against Eddie Howe's side. The Red Devils were unconvincing for most of the encounter, mustering only two shots in the opening 75 minutes of the clash.
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Marcus Rashford started again for Ten Hag's side, having scored from the spot against Everton last week. The English forward had a performance to forget before he was hauled off in the 61st minute to be replaced by Brazilian winger Antony. Rashford lost four of his five duels and could manage a pass accuracy of 65% on Saturday.
Manchester United fans were left frustrated by the performance of 26-year-old Rashford, who was handed a new contract in the summer. The fans took to X to share their disappointment over the forward, who has yet to find form this season.
Some fans were of the opinion that the forward be sold at the earliest opportunity.
Marcus Rashford has scored only two goals and provided one assist in 13 league appearances for the Red Devils this season. The Englishman looks like a shadow of himself after his impressive 2022-23 season, in which he scored 30 goals.
Manchester United look way off the pace, struggling for consistency
Manchester United have struggled this season mostly because of their lack of consistency. They have failed to repeat quality performances all season and have not performed at the required level.
Ten Hag has had to work without many of his regulars, who are out of contention through injury, and this has affected the quality of his squad. They are presently without Mason Mount, Lisandro Martinez, Tyrell Malacia, Casemiro, Christian Eriksen, and Jonny Evans, among others.
Manchester United are facing elimination from the UEFA Champions League after mustering up just one win in five group-stage matches. They are already nine points off the pace in the Premier League and are out of the Carabao Cup, as well.
The Red Devils need to begin to win games consistently, or they may find themselves out of the race for titles by the halfway point of the season.
