Man United 3-Newcastle 1: Dan James shines as Anthony Martial again underwhelms through the middle

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Man United 3-Newcastle 1: Dan James shines as Anthony Martial again underwhelms through the middle

Man United vs Newcastle

Sunday’s final Premier League tie played out a short time ago.

The game in question saw Manchester United play host to Newcastle.

The Red Devils headed into the game no doubt full of confidence, after sticking four past Real Sociedad earlier in the week.

With Manchester City having extended their lead over United to 13 points in the Premier League table with a win over Arsenal earlier in the day, though, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and co. were aware that they could not afford any slip-ups against Steve Bruce’s side.

As for Newcastle, a poor recent run had seen them slip to within three points of the bottom three ahead of kick-off.

Can Martial be Man United’s no.9?

The clash began with United struggling to carve out any real chances.

However, a moment of individual brilliance from Marcus Rashford put the home side into the lead with half an hour played:

Man United’s lead didn’t last long, though, as Allan Saint-Maximin capitalised on some questionable defending to draw Newcastle level inside 37 minutes:

The first-half drew to a close with the score at 1-1, and the Red Devils’ overall display pretty dire.

Despite their struggles, though, United again took the lead 57 minutes in, courtesy of Daniel James, who netted his second goal in two outings:

Bruno Fernandes then killed the game off from the spot 75 minutes in, after Marcus Rashford was brought down by Joe Willock.

In terms of positives for United this evening, Dan James and Rashford proved the only real bright sparks.

The Welshman impressed across 90 minutes during which the majority of his teammates looked far from their best.

United’s centre-backs, meanwhile, again did little to reassure fans that heavy investment at the heart of the club’s backline is not needed in the summer.

Elsewhere, Anthony Martial, for the umpteenth time, showcased why he is not suited to playing through the middle for a top side.

The Frenchman offered little throughout his time on the pitch, with United continuing to look much, much more likely to score when Edinson Cavani is instead playing.

Martial simply lacks the instincts of a true no.9.

If Man United have genuine hopes of establishing themselves as Premier League title challengers in the future, using the 25-year-old centrally on a weekly basis is not the way to do it.

Even Ole Gunnar Solskjaer appears to be growing impatient with Martial.

The forward was hooked after 70 minutes on Sunday, meaning he has now failed to complete 90 minutes across any of the Reds’ last four league outings.

See also: Timeframe provided for Edinson Cavani’s Manchester United return


This article was edited by Conor Laird.

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Premier League table

# Team MP D P
1 Manchester City FC 24 34 56
2 Leicester City FC 25 17 49
3 Manchester United FC 24 19 46
4 West Ham United FC 25 10 45
5 Chelsea FC 25 16 43
6 Liverpool FC 25 11 40
7 Everton FC 24 4 40
8 Aston Villa FC 23 11 36
9 Tottenham Hotspur FC 24 10 36
10 Arsenal FC 24 6 34
11 Wolverhampton Wanderers FC 25 -6 33
12 Leeds United 24 -3 32
13 Southampton FC 24 -9 30
14 Crystal Palace FC 24 -15 29
15 Burnley FC 25 -12 28
16 Brighton & Hove Albion FC 24 -5 26
17 Newcastle United FC 24 -15 25
18 Fulham FC 25 -11 22
19 West Bromwich Albion 25 -36 14
20 Sheffield United FC 25 -26 11
Player Team Goals
Salah, Mohamed Liverpool FC 17
Fernandes, Bruno Manchester United FC 15
Kane, Harry Tottenham Hotspur FC 13
Son, Heung Min Tottenham Hotspur FC 13
Calvert-Lewin, Dominic Everton FC 13
Vardy, Jamie Leicester City FC 12
Bamford, Patrick Leeds United 12
Gundogan, Ilkay Manchester City FC 11
Wilson, Callum Newcastle United FC 10
Watkins, Ollie Aston Villa FC 10
Rashford, Marcus Manchester United FC 9
Sterling, Raheem Manchester City FC 9
Barnes, Harvey Leicester City FC 9
Zaha, Wilfried Crystal Palace FC 9
Maddison, James Leicester City FC 8
Ings, Danny Southampton FC 8
Lacazette, Alexandre Arsenal FC 8
Aubameyang, Pierre-Emerick Arsenal FC 8
Soucek, Tomas West Ham United FC 8
Mane, Sadio Liverpool FC 7

Source: 101greatgoals.com