Manchester United 1-0 Newcastle United: Patrick Dorg’s first-half goal forced Newcastle to lose, giving Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United three points.
Manchester United won a hard-fought home battle against Newcastle on Boxing Day, putting pressure on the top teams from the start. Patrick Dorg enjoyed the freedom given to him by head coach Ruben Amorim and scored the winning goal.
United had an early goal with Casemiro rising highest to meet a corner kick from the left, but was unable to save his header. But they continued to press on and were rewarded with Dorgu’s superb opener volley midway through the first half.
Just before the first hour, Benjamin Sesco’s shot beat Aaron Ramsdale, but it caught the top of the bar and he was within a second. However, Newcastle were on the point shortly after when Lewis Hall’s 25-yard shot bounced off the bar and was flicked out by Senne Lamence.
As the game progressed the visitors continued to apply pressure and Anthony Gordon missed the ball wide of goal. The cavalry arrived soon after, with Eddie Howe bringing in Ioan Wissa, Harvey Barnes and Joelinton to chase down the levelers.
Diogo Dalot missed a momentary opportunity to break through Newcastle’s last line, but his shot went over the bar, but Matheus Cunha dragged his own shot wide of the target after a driving run. But one goal was enough. Here are the talking points from Old Trafford.
read more: Roy Keane, Jamie Carragher and Ruben Amorim discuss Manchester United’s Champions League predictions amid ‘low hurdles’read more: Why Manchester United twins Jack Fletcher and Tyler Fletcher will play for different national teams following Ruben Amorim’s call-up
1. Dolgu comes forward
Almost 11 months after joining Manchester United, Patrick Dorg has finally scored his first goal for the club. There was also a shocker in the game as the Dane ran in after Nick Woltemade’s header and smashed the ball out of the reach of Aaron Ramsdale.
Former Lecce star Dorg was clearly aiming for goal after scoring the opening goal and tested Ramsdale with a low right-footed shot just before half-time. He played high up the pitch on both the right and left sides throughout the match, causing problems.
At the start of the season, Ruben Amorim said he wanted Dorg to see more of the Denmark international in a United shirt. Perhaps this was what he was looking for.
2. Fernandez’s curse has been lifted
Manchester United will be worried about Bruno Fernandes being sent off against Aston Villa. In the last seven league games in which the team did not use the captain as a starter, they have only managed one point.
Amorim acknowledged that filling the captain’s absence would be a tall order, but insisted United had options. In fact, for the first 45 minutes it would have been difficult to tell which team was missing key players.
United saw the bare minimum in the closing stages, with Tyrell Malasia uncharacteristically coming off the bench. They didn’t take things the easy way, but they won’t complain about the results.
3. United’s back four dominates Newcastle
After repeatedly dismissing the idea, Ruben Amorim appeared to have abandoned his usual back three, at least at the start of the game. Patrick Dorg moved into the right-wing role ahead of Diogo Dalot, Luke Shaw remained wide at left-back, and Aiden Haven partnered Lisandro Martinez in the centre.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s entirely possible that this change was made purely out of necessity. Nousair Mazraoui and Amad were absent for the African Cup of Nations, depriving United of two more natural wing-back options, while Dorg could have also been used there had he not replaced Brian Mbeumo, who is absent from the AFCON.
Indeed, the move seemed to catch Newcastle by surprise. During the outage, Lewis Hall received a message allowing visitors to make their own adjustments.
United maintained their lead and then added a centre-back in Lenny Yolo. However, this too was a bait-and-switch, with the Frenchman moving to right-back and Daro moving forward on the wing.
4. Fletcher’s moment in the sun
Before kick-off, some United fans were insisting that Jack Fletcher start. The teenager made his Premier League debut on Sunday and may have fancied a chance due to Fernandes’ injury, but he started on the bench instead.
However, the departure of Mason Mount at the start of the second half gave the youngster a chance. That meant a high-level role to begin with, and Fletcher was forced to be flexible as others pulled out.
Fletcher’s twin brother Tyler also joined United’s bench as part of the youth selection, with Tyler Fredrickson introduced in the second half. United may still be far from full strength, but the future is starting to look bright.
5. Manchester United’s revenge mission
This time last year, United had their worst first half of Ruben Amorim’s early years as manager. They were 2-0 down within 20 minutes, but Amorim was mercifully replaced by Joshua Zirkzee just before half-time.
This time it was a different story. Tonight, Amorim’s team got off to a quick start, with their opponents unable to gain a foothold until the second period, apart from a few short flashes.
After arriving in the final 30 minutes, Zirkzee even had time to pursue a redemption story on a personal level. However, it was Newcastle who had done most of the attacking by then and one of the hosts’ tasks was containment, but revenge will no doubt be sweet.
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