O Manchester United defeated Newcastle, 1-0, this Friday, in a duel valid for the 18th round of the English Championship. With the result, the team moved closer to the G-4, gaining the same 29 points as Chelsea. The teams are only behind Arsenal (39), Manchester City (37) and Aston Villa (36). Newcastle has 23 points, in 11th place.
The game was full of alternatives in the first half. Pushed by the enthusiastic fans, Manchester United were the first to attack, even without the command of Portuguese Bruno Fernandes, but Sesko was confused when it came to finishing, after ten minutes.
Patrick Dorgu scored the winning goal for Manchester United over Newcastle. Photo: Darren Staples/AFP
Well organized tactically, Newcastle with good touch of the ball took control of the match. And the visitors only failed to open the scoring after 12 minutes, with a header from Brazilian Bruno Guimarães because goalkeeper Lammens made a great save.
But the first goal came from United in a talented move. Dorgu picked up a rebound inside the area, after a throw-in, and hit the ball ‘face’ to make it 1-0, in the 24th minute.
The dispute became even more intense, with the teams taking turns attacking. Dorgu, at 33, narrowly missed out on the second. Ramsdale made a great save, repeating the good performance shown in a previous play with a shot by Matheus Cunha.
With lots of ‘showers’, Newcastle came into the second half imposing great pressure on United. In the first ten minutes, they had 65% possession of the ball.
But it was United who had the chance to score, after a wrong ball from Newcastle. Sesko headed towards the goal alone, but hit the crossbar in the 14th minute.
At 16, Newcastle took advantage of the hole created in United’s midfield, after the substitution of Casemiro, to almost equalize. Lewis Hall took a risk from distance and hit Lammens’ crossbar. At 21, Gordon narrowly missed the target.
The visitors already deserved a draw, but they lacked quality. At 34, Brazilian Joelinton had the chance to finish inside the area, but hit the ball weakly. Opportunities were wasted by both teams. Matheus Cunha, for United, and Willock, for Newcastle.
In the 40th minute, Gordon added Newcastle’s 13th shot, but made his 11th error. Miley was another who sent the ball over the crossbar, at 45.
Newcastle tried to equalize until the end, abusing balls in the Manchester United area, but was unsuccessful.
Related reading
