Newcastle 4 Man Utd 1: Hosts boost top-five hopes, Barnes stars and Amorim’s big calls analysed

Newcastle United gave their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League a major boost by beating a Manchester United side who are now guaranteed to finish with their lowest points tally since the Premier League era began.

The home side were without head coach Eddie Howe, who missed the game after being hospitalised on Friday, but they were able to continue their impressive recent form against opponents who made changes with Thursday’s second leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Lyon in mind. Ruben Amorim gave full Premier League debuts to goalkeeper Altay Bayindir — leaving first-choice Andre Onana out of the matchday squad altogether — and 18-year-old defender Harry Amass.

Newcastle were the better side, taking the lead on 24 minutes when Sandro Tonali finished clinically after an excellent assist from Alexander Isak. Manchester United equalised before half-time when Alejandro Garnacho converted coolly after a piercing run by Diogo Dalot, but in the second half Newcastle took control.

Harvey Barnes was the star of the show, first tapping in after a cutback from Jacob Murphy on 49 minutes, then robbing Noussair Mazraoui and racing straight through the visitors’ defence before giving Bayindir no chance just after the hour. The ’keeper was very much at fault for Newcastle’s final goal, clipping a pass straight to Joelinton, who passed for Bruno Guimaraes to add the fourth.

This result takes Newcastle up to fourth. Their game in hand on the teams around them is at home against Crystal Palace on Wednesday — win or draw that and they will go third with six to play. Manchester United are 14th, and this defeat means they are as close points-wise to the relegation places as they are to the top five spots that mean Champions League football next season. The loss means they now cannot match their previous lowest Premier League points total of 58 three years ago.

Chris Waugh, Mark Critchley and Conor O’Neill analyse the main talking points.

How Newcastle coped with Howe absence to earn key win

The pre-match display to Kevin Keegan provided a fitting tribute to a club legend, but it felt a little incongruous given the circumstances. The banners had initially been intended for the Liverpool fixture in December, but given that Howe — for whom Keegan’s ‘Entertainers’ were such an inspiration — was absent due to illness, the timing was far from ideal.

However, Wor Flags volunteers dedicate hundreds of hours of their time to these magnificent visuals and, given news of Howe’s condition only broke the evening before the game, the display could not be pulled.

With Howe kept in hospital over the weekend with an unspecified illness, Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones, the assistant head coaches, led the team. Tindall was an almost ever-present in the technical area throughout the game — aside from berating Sam Barrott, the fourth official, in the ninth minute, he was far less confrontational than normal — while Jones spent the first half in the press box observing from above, as usual.

Tindall continued to direct set pieces throughout, given that is his domain, and he applauded Newcastle players when they pressed high, often almost man for man across the field. He was also determined to keep the pace of the game high, rushing to encourage his players to get the ball back onto the pitch as quickly as possible.

When Tonali smothered Bruno Fernnades deep in the opposition half, Tindall applauded and then implored him to do so again with rolling hand gestures. Soon afterwards, Bayindir was forced into a mistake by the press, leading to Newcastle’s fourth.

Howe and Tindall have always worked as a partnership who share a footballing philosophy and so, even if the head coach was absent, there was never a risk of Newcastle’s trademark intensity going missing too.

A fifth-successive victory in all competitions, and fourth in the top flight, also lifted Newcastle into fourth and, with their game in hand to come on Wednesday, they are now firm favourites to secure Champions League football for next season.

Chris Waugh

Contrasting fortunes for Bayindir and Amass on full league debuts

Amorim certainly has not been afraid to make headline-grabbing selection decisions during his first months in charge at Old Trafford. The latest featured Onana being left out entirely after his errors in Lyon on Thursday.

Bayindir was handed his Premier League debut as a result and he was not the only fresh face. Amass was trusted to make the first start of his senior career full stop. They came away with contrasting fortunes.

Amass, for his part, did not look out of place. The 18-year-old acquitted himself well, his highlight being a neat bit of footwork shortly before the break that took him through a crowd of Newcastle players to spark a move that ended in a Garnacho shot.

Bayindir did not take his opportunity, however. The Turkey international was only truly at fault for Newcastle’s fourth but the blame lay solely with him, as a stray pass to Joelinton set up Guimaraes for a simple finish.

It was another poor goalkeeping error in a week defined by them. Bayindir deserved a chance after Onana’s mistakes of late but he failed to take it, leaving a question mark over who will start on Thursday.

Mark Critchley

Murphy and Barnes justify faith as Gordon made to wait

Newcastle want a right-sided forward this summer. They have wanted one pretty much since the takeover more than three years ago. But, in Murphy, they have one of the most in-form right-wingers in the Premier League, if not in Europe.

Since December 7, only Mohamed Salah and Isak have more goal contributions than Murphy in the Premier League (seven goals and eight assists). The most recent of those, his clever layback to Barnes from the byline in the 49th minute against Manchester United, was also the 20th goal Murphy has been involved in across all competitions this season (eight goals and 12 assists).

Only once, while playing in League One — the third tier of English football, at Coventry City in 2015-16 — has Murphy reached that mark before. While Murphy has the propensity to exasperate, he has also developed into one of the most dangerous attackers in the Premier League, forging a prolific partnership with Isak, who loves playing alongside the boyhood Newcastle fan.

Barnes, meanwhile, also appears determined to keep the fit-again Anthony Gordon from returning to the XI, following more than 18 months of finding himself second choice to his fellow England international. Due to suspension and then a hip injury, Gordon had missed the previous four matches in all competitions, including the Carabao Cup final victory, but Barnes has more than stepped up, and the former rightly remained merely a substitute against Manchester United.

Across his past four top-flight appearances, Barnes has scored three times and assisted two further goals.

On the left, Barnes is now providing Gordon with exactly the sort of healthy competition Newcastle want in every position, including for Murphy on the right, going into 2025-26.

Chris Waugh

Amorim’s side struggle to cope with Newcastle’s press

Garnacho’s breakaway equaliser came against the run of play in a first half dominated by Newcastle.

Despite having a greater share of possession, Manchester United struggled to bypass Newcastle’s aggressive press, with 56 per cent of their passes played within their own third — their highest first-half share since Amorim’s debut match at Ipswich Town, and recorded just seven touches in Newcastle’s box.

The problem was that much of their build-up came through Victor Lindelof and Manuel Ugarte, neither renowned for their passing range, with the Swede stepping into midfield in possession to form a double pivot alongside the Uruguayan.

While Joshua Zirkzee was involved in some neat combination play, his lack of pace allowed Newcastle to push forward without fear of being beaten by a ball over the top, enabling them to suffocate Manchester United high up the pitch.

Lindelof and Ugarte both looked uncomfortable against this, either resorting to aimless long balls or ceding possession in dangerous areas. This ultimately led to Newcastle’s opener after Ugarte carelessly gave the ball away to Murphy with a loose crossfield pass.

This highlights why Amorim often uses Fernandes as one of the deeper pivots: he is one of the few players capable of stitching moves together from defence to attack. If Amorim wants to implement a style predicated on controlled build-up, he will need more technically adroit players than Lindelof and Ugarte at the base to conduct it.

Conor O’Neill

Where does this result leave Manchester United?

Clearly, the Premier League is not Manchester United’s priority. It can’t be. Amorim’s decision to rotate was not a surprise in that respect, nor was his substitution of goalscorer Garnacho shortly after Zirkzee’s worrying injury.

The seasons rests on Thursday’s second leg against Lyon. Amorim needs to prioritise that and did so once Zirkzee’s injury damaged the chances of turning this game around.

But the Portuguese has said himself that the best preparation for success in Europe can be getting consistent results domestically, and Manchester United remain a long way off that.

This defeat means they have just two victories in their past nine in the league — against 18th-placed Ipswich Town and 19th-placed Leicester City.

Their maximum points tally is now 56 – two fewer than 2021-22’s record low for the Premier League era. That’s if they win all their remaining games, which looks like a distant prospect.

There have been improvements of late. This was only Manchester United’s second 90-minute defeat in their past 10 games. But those vague green shoots were nowhere to be seen in a dismal second half that was far from ideal preparation for Thursday.

Mark Critchley

What next for Newcastle?

Wednesday, April 16: Crystal Palace (Home), Premier League, 7.30pm UK, 2.30pm ET

What next for Manchester United?

Thursday, April 17: Lyon (Home), Europa League quarter-final second leg, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

(Top photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

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