Man United 0-3 Newcastle: Pressure piles on Erik ten Hag as Red Devils suffer another DISMAL home defeat against Eddie Howe's second string to end their Carabao Cup defence with a whimper

The problem for Manchester United astatine nan infinitesimal is that location is ever different crippled and, erstwhile it arrives, they inevitably thin to get moreover worse.

Sunday saw them suffer 3-0 to their neighbours Manchester City. That was beautiful wretched but City are nan Premier League champions and treble winners, perchance nan champion squad successful nan world.

This was Newcastle reserves — a squad afloat of footballers successful nan incorrect positions — but still United mislaid by nan aforesaid scoreline.

Could it person been a greater margin? Of course. Apart from a 15 infinitesimal spell astatine nan commencement of nan 2nd half, Newcastle were nan amended squad by an absolute mile.

But past Erik 10 Hag’s United are not a squad astatine all, not really. The United head made changes from Sunday for this 1 but nary of that really matters arsenic a seam of indifference and chaos runs done his squad from beforehand to backmost and from apical to bottom.

It is difficult to activity retired what was nan debased constituent of this shameful night. Was astatine young midfielder Hannibal almost being sent disconnected pinch 15 minutes? Or 3 players moaning astatine nan referee arsenic Newcastle took a free-kick en way to creating their 2nd goal?

Or possibly it was Sergio Reguilon being booked for kicking nan shot distant erstwhile United were 3 down? Or Sofyan Amrabat seeing yellowish for dissent a mates of minutes later?

Reguilon and Amrabat person only been astatine nan nine since nan extremity of August but irresponsibility and deficiency of accountability spreads for illustration a virus. Quite simply cipher is safe and that now includes nan manager.

Ten Hag has done immoderate awesome things successful his 18 months astatine United but nary of them person travel this season. Right now nan Dutchman looks arsenic impotent arsenic immoderate skipper of a sinking vessel. United are heading southbound and unless Ten Hag tin someway bring astir a complete alteration of guidance complete nan adjacent fewer weeks he simply will not past a regression arsenic crisp and disfigured arsenic immoderate that person preceded him successful nan decade since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure.

Newcastle, it must beryllium said, were magnificent. Short of bodies, this was an Eddie Howe squad that didn’t needfully look group up to win. But they were marvellous each night, playing pinch an look and a state that utilized to beryllium nan sphere of those wearing red.

They were 2 up and successful power by half-time, acknowledgment to Miguel Almiron and young Lewis Hall. They wobbled for 15 minutes arsenic United tried to propulsion nan room descend astatine them early successful nan 2nd period. But United could only really negociate to unscrew nan taps and erstwhile Joe Willock drove successful nan 3rd conscionable aft nan hr different section successful Ten Hag’s progressively disfigured communicative astatine Old Trafford had been written.

Strangely for Newcastle, it was an early wounded rustle that played a portion successful what transpired to beryllium a ascendant half. Howe was trying to protect players up of Saturday evening’s crippled pinch Arsenal but erstwhile Matt Targett pulled his hamstring successful conscionable nan 2nd minute, it prompted nan preamble of Miguel Almiron who was superb and did overmuch much than conscionable people nan opening goal.

Almiron, 1 of galore Newcastle players to person flourished nether Howe’s guidance, was confident, nonstop and fierce — and he wasn’t nan only subordinate successful achromatic and achromatic astir whom that could beryllium said.

As for United, they possessed nary of these qualities. Ten Hag’s much-changed squad were passive and meek and lacking successful immoderate benignant of intent during nan opening 45 minutes. They were jeered disconnected astatine half-time by their ain supporters and pinch very bully reason.

Ten Hag, for his part, looked ashen and bereft of ideas aliases influence. As he chewed his gum monotonously connected nan bench, he watched his squad slow being taken apart.

Early connected location was not overmuch successful it. Both teams struggled for hit and Newcastle successful peculiar were handicapped by having players successful unfamiliar positions.

The informing signs were location for United, though. The young midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was booked for an aerial barge connected Sean Longstaff and could person walked aft a precocious situation connected nan aforesaid subordinate soon after.

Meanwhile nan Brazilian Casemiro besides received a yellowish paper for arriving precocious and it summed up nan location team’s struggles.

Many of these players should person seen this nighttime arsenic an opportunity. Instead they simply mirrored nan haplessness and fecklessness of nan squad that had mislaid present to Manchester City astatine nan weekend.

Newcastle grew into nan crippled successful nan first half successful a measurement their opponents didn’t. In nan 22nd infinitesimal Matt Ritchie drove a changeable complete from 25 yards aft United coughed up possession astatine their ain thrown in. Seven minutes later Newcastle were ahead.

Alejandro Garnacho was astatine slightest trying to beryllium affirmative for United erstwhile driving astatine Tino Livramento down nan near side.

But erstwhile nan afloat backmost tackled him, United were successful trouble. Livramento sped up field, eased past Mason Mount arsenic though he was not location and past played a walk wrong Diogo Dalot that Almiron was capable to decorativeness disconnected pinch a changeable crossed Andre Onana.

It was a superb Newcastle goal, counter-attacking shot astatine its finest. Briefly United rallied, jolted from their lethargy by nan daze of nan goal, and Reguilon changeable complete aft Hannibal group him up.

Soon after, however, Newcastle sewage them again. Conceding a free-kick successful centre field, 3 United players were still arguing pinch nan referee arsenic play restarted.

Newcastle were capable to build down nan left, Almiron played Joe Willock to nan byline betwixt Dalot and Casimero and erstwhile nan dinked transverse was cleared, Hall volleyed his first Newcastle extremity successful to nan area from conscionable wrong nan punishment area.

Ten Hag had to do thing astatine half-time. It couldn’t continue. So Dalot and Casemiro came disconnected and Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Amrabat came on. And for 15 minutes nan crippled was vastly different. United played pinch urgency and tempo and slickness. They passed quickly and they ran hard. Newcastle couldn’t get retired of their ain half for a 4th of an hr spell that saw nan location team’s possession tally astatine almost 80 per cent.

The Old Trafford crowd did its bit, too. Had United scored past this evening conscionable possibly could person turned their way. But they didn’t and then, possibly alternatively predictably, Newcastle did.

The Brazilian Joelinton, playing astatine nan guidelines of nan midfield, won nan shot from Amrabat and that allowed Willock to tally guardant pinch it. The erstwhile Arsenal subordinate had been awesome each nighttime and arsenic Harry Maguire’s way to adjacent him down was blocked by a Newcastle body, Willock passed nan shot right-footed successful to Onana’s bottommost near manus area from 18 yards.

‘We tin spot you creeping out’ nan Newcastle fans sang to their counterparts successful red. The was nary creeping astir it, though. You could almost perceive nan seats slam successful to nan upright position arsenic United supporters near nan stadium pinch almost half an hr still to play.