When it rains it pours for Reuben Amorim. Stepping into Manchester United, he would have been under the illusion that the scale of his work at Old Trafford was huge.
But even he would have not expected to unfold this way for the first few months of his tenure.
Certainly, Amorim walked the tunnel, which had not won for his 20th victory in 33 games when Newcastle hit the Red Devils 4-1 inside St James Park in the Premier League on Sunday.
Erik Ten Hag barely leaves this side in the best states, but better results are expected even if Portuguese are still relatively new to this role.
Alas, soccer is a fierce sport and he needs to get it right earlier than late.
Still, at least he’s not afraid to make big calls. This weekend, I completely dropped Andre Onana from his team. Sadly, his lieutenant had not hidden himself with too much glory.
Bayindir performance vs Newcastle
Last week, goalkeeper Onana engaged in a war of words with former United star Nemanjamatic, who was with the Lyon team to face them in the Europa League on Thursday.
Matic pointed out that Cameroon Stopper was “the worst ‘keeper in Manchester United history,” and that the script had a Howler in France, spreading the ball over the net in the first half and spilling it.
So, to take him off the fire line, Amorim decided this weekend that Onana would not travel northeast.
As a result, Turkish stopper Altay Bayindir got in to get his gloves. He hasn’t been handed too many opportunities this term, but he was a FA Cup hero when United beat Arsenal in the January shootout.
He may have done little about three of the four Newcastle goals scored by Harvey Burns, Sandro Tonari and Bruno Guimarè, but he made his own mistake.
Up until that point, it was honestly not a bad afternoon for Bay Indeal, but his error would not have given him much of a boon when he had to coast through a game he was not noticed.
Eddie Howe’s side was already up 3-1 at this point, when the Turks inexplicably lacked the ball straight to Jollington. The Brazilian lepto was high and we headed towards the Guimarè road, which we had no intention of missing.
After the game, Amorim was asked what he had said to the goalkeeper full time. “Nothing, I’ll continue doing the same thing. We’re going to analyze the game, but we need to focus on the next game. We can’t change this.”
This was an error-filled game for United, and Noussair Mazraoui also broke down, appearing in Barnes’ second goal, effectively passing the second goal at the plate.
Still, at least they had a good moment. Bayindir was not responsible for any of the other goals, despite acknowledging the four.
Number performance
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However, the two weren’t the only ones who deserved a bit of annoyance full time.
4/10 Man United Stars must be given boots
The defensive display left a lot of what was desired, but from a unified perspective there were some positives. It was well fed to Diogo Darot, who saw the fierce figure of Alejandro Garnacho.
He also made the debut of 18-year-old Harry Amas’ first team. He said, “We weren’t far from his depths,” Manchester Evening News reporter Samuel Luckhurst said.
Luckhurst wasn’t a complement to everyone, but especially Christian Eriksen. He considered the buy-indeal and Mazrawi worthy of a 5/10 match rating, but his Danish teammate only got a recorder and 4/10 rating, saying that he was “often out of pace in the intensity” of matches at St. James Park.
The fact in question is that Eriksen should not start for United on the best day, let alone oppose the fast-paced Newcastle side.
The playmaker was a great servant in the Premier League, but it’s very clear that his best days are behind him. Certainly, writer Sam Pilger suggested that he “should not be near the starting lineup,” accusing the veteran of lacking “muscle and pace.”
Eriksen vs Newcastle | |
---|---|
I played a few minutes | 90 |
touch | 54 |
The exact path | 42/47 (89%) |
Key Pass | 0 |
Accurate intersection | 0/1 |
Accurate long ball | 1/2 |
shot | 0 |
The dribbling was successful | 0 |
The duel won | 2/4 |
Statistics via Sofascore. |
The Danish International display was summarised by Burns’ involvement in the third goal scored.
While Mazrawie skated, his teammates, especially Renny Yoro, Victor Lindelof and Eriksen, were rarely confused about going down the goal at Newcastle No. 11. Neither Yoro nor Eriksen could get close enough to the Toon attackers who were allowed to surge easily towards the goal.
Dane’s numbers were also not very pretty. He completed 89% of his passes but had no shots. I completed key pass, registered dribbling, and intercepted.
Ahead of the important second game against Lyon on Thursday, Amorim will need to make sure the 33-year-old is not in his starting lineup.
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