"There are too many bad eggs" - Alan Shearer questions attitude of Manchester United players after 1-0 Newcastle defeat 

Premier League legend Alan Shearer has lambasted the attitude of Manchester United players following their 1-0 league defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday (December 2).

An Anthony Gordon 55th-minute strike was enough for the dominant Magpies to down a Red Devils side that were comfortably second-best for large swathes before coming to life late on.

Shearer's former team could have been ahead by more than one goal at St. James' Park, but United were fortuitous to be only a goal down as they entered stoppage time. Antony thought he grabbed a late equaliser for the visitors, only for the goal to be ruled out, as it had come off Harry Maguire, who was offside.

Speaking to BBC's Match of the day, Shearer said that the Magpies were rampant on the flanks, running United ragged:

'They (Newcastle) absolutely battered Man United in wide areas. (Kieran) Trippier and (Tino) Livramento were sensational against (Aaron) Wan-Bissaka and (Diogo) Dalot.

The Premier League all-time top-scorer duly noted that United's attackers were bereft of service up front:

'In their defence, they got no help whatsoever from (Alejandro) Garnacho and (Marcus) Rashford.

Making a scathing assessment of United's attitude, Shearer continued:

"For me, there are too many bad eggs in that Man United team. Too many bad attitudes. It's alright when things are going well for you, you can get your feet on the ball, play and pick your head up when things are nice and rosy.

"When it's not going for you, when you're a bit tired, and you've got to roll your sleeves up, there's not enough characters in that team."

Following the loss, United slipped a place to seventh in the standings, nine points off leaders Arsenal after 14 games.

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"We could have been more dominant" - Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag had praise for his defence but bemoaned that they didn't attack enough for any significant stretch except late on.

The visitors repelled wave after wave of Newcastle attacks before Gordon breached their citadel. The hosts' profligacy almost came back to haunt them, but to their relief, a late United equaliser was chalked off for offside.

United boss Ten Hag acknowledged to the BBC (as per the Red Devils' website) that the visitors defended well but rued the lack of dominance for large swathes to alter the scoreline.

“You could say we defended quite well, but I prefer to stay further away from our goal, and I prefer to have more of the ball, to play in their half. We had our moments where we could make good formations, but it wasn’t enough. We could have been more dominant in the game.”

Manchester United will look to return to winning ways against a floundering Chelsea side on Wednesday (December 6).