2. Manchester United starting to click into gear
Although the Red Devils won six games in a row, there weren’t too many that were talking up their chances of winning the League. While they were winning, which was a good sign, their performances were far from convincing. In fact, aside from the game against Hull, the Red Devils didn’t dominate any other game during that winning run and were only winning thanks to some sublime performances in both boxes by Messrs. David De Gea and Robin Van Persie.
But against Newcastle, they gave their most convincing performance so far, as they extended their unbeaten to eight games. With Carrick and Rooney in midfield, they had two players who had the ability to play penetrative forward passes. And in Falcao and Van Persie up front, they had two of the most clinical finishers in Europe who dovetailed their movement throughout the game to perfection. Although their defense is still under-strength, with Ashley Young whipping in balls from the left flank, it provided United with so many different options in attack, that the visitors simply couldn’t handle.