On December 3, it was reported that Newcastle defeated Manchester United 1-0 at home in the 14th round of the English Premier League, overtaking Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the standings and rising to fifth place.
United dropped to seventh and if Brighton beat Chelsea tonight, the Reds would drop back to eighth.
Ten Hag once said triumphantly that the table position showed that United were playing well. But in fact, the data is sometimes deceptive, Manchester United has won many games luckily, from the content of the game, tactical design, player commitment and many other aspects, Manchester United is now a mid-table team in the Premier League, ranking 8th to 12th is more objective.
Ten Hag knew that St James' Park was not easy to conquer, and his tactical design was to defend and counter-attack, but United held on for 55 minutes and still couldn't withstand it. Guimaraes split the ball to the right and cut in at high speed for Trippier to cross low to the back post, and Gordon easily pushed it into the net in a textbook combination.
In fact, United defended the first half well, especially Harry Maguire, who blocked Isak's shot with his heel and bravely blocked Schal's shot before the end of the first half. Onana saved Almiron's left-footed effort and Kieran Trippier's free-kick hit the crossbar.
In the 17th minute, Newcastle patiently passed in the ribs of the right penalty area, and Manchester United's defense, although it cannot be said to be ineffective, is at least very passive. Joelinton cut into the box and Almiron fired a left-footed shot into the far corner ......
At the moment, Onana did what he was supposed to do, a side pounce, to keep the ball out.
Onana has struggled in the Champions League this season, but has made good saves in the Premier League.
In fact, fans should no longer laugh at Onana and Maguire, and these two are the only ones who are qualified for Manchester United's performance in this game.
But the game was basically controlled by Newcastle, and Manchester United was always in a passive defense and played very tired. It wasn't until the 82nd minute that United had their first corner.
Newcastle's 10 starters, with the exception of goalkeeper Pope, have all been in the Manchester United penalty area, while United only had two shots on goal and one on target until 60 minutes, while Newcastle had 19 shots and four on target. It was a completely one-sided game.
It wasn't until they were 1-0 down that United woke up from a dream and started to attack a little. Fernandes takes a free-kick and Maguire heads it high. Ten Hag pushed Harry Maguire into the centre-forward position in the closing stages of the game, but United did not cross and Maguire's header advantage could not be exploited.
Kieran Trippier played Garnacho and the England veteran told the Argentine youngsters that this was St James's Park, not Goodison Park. Kieran Trippier didn't foul Garnacho on a couple of tackles, and in the second half Trippier also crossed Garnacho in the corner flag area, but unfortunately the pass reached the top of the arc and no team-mate followed up with a shot.
And the left wing-back Livramento crossed Rashford like the road in the early morning, unimpeded!If Rashford's psychological problems are not resolved, Rashford will become a mediocre player under Ten Hag's account, and he will not want to play in the main team in the European Championship.
When 17-year-old Miley meets 18-year-old Maynoo, St James's Park is full of youth. Miley did a pretty good job of attacking the link-up and rarely missed the pass. In contrast, Maynu doesn't protect enough at the back in the midfield position, which is difficult to play in and it's hard to ask an 18-year-old to dominate and see the big picture.
If you just compare the right wingers of each team, you will find that Eddie Howe is actually struggling to lead Newcastle to the top four with a relatively mediocre line-up.
Arsenal Bukayo Saka.
Manchester City, Phil Foden.
Liverpool Salah.
Tottenham Kulusevski.
Chelsea Raheem Sterling.
Manchester United Marcus Rashford.
West Ham United Bowen.
Vera Watkins.
Newcastle's Almiron, while very hardworking, has limited talent.
In today's game, the Paraguayan international had a number of opportunities to cut inside the left-footed goal, and if he was replaced by Saka or Salah, Onana had already been beaten into a sieve.
This game could be a watershed moment for both teams this season. They have each performed poorly in the Champions League, but Newcastle are likely to qualify.
Newcastle start the new year against Liverpool and Manchester City in succession, but until then, Newcastle may be on a winning squad.
United could be on a downward trajectory and Bournemouth could cause problems for the Reds in the shadow of a losing streak, and until then, a trip to Chelsea in midweek is dangerous.
After that, Bayern, Liverpool, West Ham United, Villa ......It's scary to watch, and I don't know which game Ten Hag's dismissal will take place after the game.