Erik ten Hag has described Newcastle United as “annoying” for some time now but, until Sunday, Manchester United’s manager probably regarded Eddie Howe’s side as more of a nuisance than a genuine threat.
All that changed in the course of a statement win which confirms Newcastle’s status as an emerging force; not to mention serious contenders for Champions League qualification.
It was all played out against an evocatively raucous backdrop, reprising memories of the mid‑1990s and the fierce rivalry between Kevin Keegan’s and Sir Alex Ferguson’s then title‑chasing teams.
Stellar second‑half goals from the excellent Joe Willock and the substitute Callum Wilson enabled Howe’s class of 2022‑23 to leapfrog their guests as they rose to third in the Premier League. Granted Manchester United are level on points but their goal difference is distinctly inferior. Indeed Ten Hag’s side are now without a goal, or a win, in their past three league games.
If Howe enjoyed watching his players exact revenge for the Carabao Cup final defeat to the same opponents in February, Ten Hag’s irritation at being bested here surfaced as, deep in the second half, the two managers pointed fingers in each other’s faces after the Dutchman accused Nick Pope, the home goalkeeper, of time wasting. In the end he and Howe had to be separated by Manchester United’s assistant manager, Steve McClaren.
The biggest indictment of a rather jaded looking visiting performance was that Newcastle looked half a yard sharper throughout and, on a day when they rarely needed to waste time in the manner so deplored by Ten Hag, constantly demanded the ball.
With Marcus Rashford uncommonly peripheral in attack after being repeatedly second guessed but Kieran Trippier and the suspended Casemiro much missed in central midfield, Manchester United never succeeded in properly imposing themselves on hosts who forced the highest of tempos.
It was thrillingly exhilarating but the concern for home fans was that it did not seem possible for their team to maintain such ferocity and intensity. Somehow a Newcastle side which is arguably the top tier’s fittest managed it.
Even so, Howe could have done with his players scoring an early goal but when Jacob Murphy – who had a good game – conjured a decent opening courtesy of a cleverly chipped cross David de Gea came to Manchester United’s rescue.
Yet although De Gea’s fine double save kept out both Alexander Isak’s initial header and Willock’s follow‑up from the rebound, Manchester United, and Diogo Dalot in particular, were being persistently destabilised by Allan Saint-Maximin’s electric left‑wing advances. Indeed, as Sean Longstaff sent a header swerving narrowly wide after connecting with one of Saint‑Maximin’s crosses Ten Hag looked almost as agitated as Antony became whenever he entered Dan Burn’s orbit.
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If their duel was feisty at times – to put it mildly – the running battle between Scott McTominay and Bruno Guimarães also represented a significant subplot.
An extra central midfielder to provide cover for the Brazilian ranks high on Howe’s close season shopping list and McTominay – deputising for Casemiro here – has his admirers inside St James’ Park. Accordingly this represented something of an audition for Scotland’s man of the moment but it was one McTominay ultimately failed.
In mitigation few midfielders upstage Guimarães but Ten Hag may well have reason to regret not starting Fred in a central engine room dominated by the Brazilian and his two sometimes underrated sidekicks, Longstaff and Willock.
The latter pair impressed hugely, refusing to allow Ten Hag’s side to settle into any sort of proper rhythm. Indeed, had Willock been wearing his shooting boots in the first half it might have been virtually all over by the interval. Mancunian hearts were certainly in mouth as, after making a late dash into the area and collecting Saint-Maximin’s counter-attacking cut back, he shaped to shoot from a highly promising position but somehow ended up firing high into the Leazes End.
Although, as half‑time beckoned, Antony came close to volleying the visitors into the lead from Luke Shaw’s corner, Pope largely remained surprisingly untroubled. Tellingly Wout Weghorst, Ten Hag’s centre‑forward, had been totally eclipsed by his near flawless marker, Sven Botman.
It came as no real shock, when shortly after the interval, Weghorst was replaced by Anthony Martial in a double switch also involving Jadon Sancho’s replacement of Antony. Admittedly with some justification, the latter appeared distinctly unamused about being hooked.
Some things never seemed to change and, whoever else was on the pitch, Dalot found little respite from being given the runaround by Saint-Maximin. Appropriately enough, the latter created Willock’s goal, meeting Guimarães’s delicate cross and heading it back across goal, leaving the scorer to nod the ball beyond De Gea.
Hats off to Willock; surely an England call-up cannot be too far away for Howe’s presser in chief whose cause is strengthened by his helpful knack of timing those late runs into the box to perfection. Credit too, to Isak, superb throughout, who, in turning Raphaël Varane and holding the ball up superbly, permitted Saint-Maximin to conjure that incisive cross.
All that remained was for Wilson to expertly dodge Victor Lindelöf before heading Newcastle’s second after connecting with Trippier’s typically well executed free‑kick.
As the final whistle proved the starting gun for a heated visiting inquest featuring Bruno Fernandes, Dalot and Antony among those trading apparent insults, Howe’s team toured the pitch on an impromptu lap of honour.
