Manchester United stayed unbeaten in the Premier League after being held to a 0-0 draw by Newcastle. Neither team did enough to claim all three points at Old Trafford. The closest any team came to scoring was when Wayne Rooney’s first-half strike was ruled out for offside. Newcastle will be the happier of the two teams after holding out for a point, but they had a couple of great chances to steal all the points as well, Aleksandar Mitrovic struck the crossbar with a magnificent header. We look back at an entertaining game and provide five talking points from them.
United missing the cutting edge
Manchester United might have started like a house on fire against Newcastle and should have been in the lead but after the 20 minute mark, Newcastle got a hold of the game and that was the end of United’s domination. More worryingly for United fans would be the fact that they seem to lose the ruthless aggression that they were known for under Sir Alex Ferguson, sure they might be getting the results but once they start playing the top sides, it could be a rather tough day out for the Red Devils.
Memphis ice cold against Newcastle
Memphis blows hot and Memphis blow cold, while the Dutch ace was magnificent in midweek against Brugge, he was ordinary against Newcastle. Fans would have expected him to shred the Newcastle defence apart, but that was not to be. He didn’t really have a lot of chances and was marshalled really well by the defenders. Memphis needs to be more consistent in his performances, but he has time to learn.
Newcastle’s new boys should be kept an eye on
We said it earlier and we will say it again, Steve McClaren has pulled a rabbit out of the bag after he ended up signing Mitrovic and Wijnaldum, the two were absolutely brilliant for the Magpies against Manchester United and everyone should keep an eye on the pair for the rest of the season. Wijnaldum looks to be a special player and it will be interesting to see if Newcastle can hold on to him next season.
Wayne Rooney needs help
Apart from the well take the offside goal, Wayne Rooney cut a forlorn figure in United’s attack. To be fair, he was n’t given much firepower to deal with either and unless Louis van Gaal somehow manages to get the team going, Rooney is going to struggle to play as the lone striker. Often during the game, he would drift way into midfield to pick up the ball and try to do something. Maybe he should be a little more patient and wait for the game to come to him, United have Memphis Depay to set up goals, Rooney just needs to be at the right position at the right time.
McClaren the perfect manager for Newcastle
Steve McClaren has years of experience in management but after the debacle that was his England reign, many though he could never manage in England again. He did do extremely well in Holland and almost brought Derby back into the Premier League last season, but no one would have expected him to sign for Newcastle. That though seems to have worked great for the Magpies and the team also seems to want to play for him, hopefully, Newcastle can be a stable club for a few years under Steve.