It seems that Manchester United has one certain thing to look forward – no matter what the form, no matter the position on the table, they are guaranteed to beat Newcastle United at Old Trafford. With two straight losses (Crystal Palace and Arsenal) and in terrible form, without proper defenders and with Bruno Guimaraes as the striker in this game, they were still able to defeat the Magpies, who had a comfortable win in this stadium earlier in the season (3-0), but that was Carabao Cup. In the Premier League, Newcastle won only once in in the last 52 years! That sole win came in 2013 and that was it. Tonight, they recorded another defeat at Old Trafford and made life much harder for themselves in the last round: Manchester United – Newcastle United 3-2. In theory, Newcastle, Chelsea and United can all play in Europe in case Manchester City defeats the Red Devils in the FA Cup finals. If not, the seventh-placed club in the end, will not play in UEFA competitions next season. VAR is once again the star of the show, as Newcastle were denied a penalty after replays showed Sofyan Amrabat stepping on the back of Anthony Gordon 🤔 The controversy never ends 🤷♂️ pic.twitter.com/ABW2uzs3RD— SPORTbible (@sportbible) May 15, 2024 What’s funny about this game is the fact that the Magpies played badly and didn’t believe in themselves even though two of Manchester’s legends did! Before the match, Roy Keane predicted a ‘tough night for Manchester’, while Wayne Rooney gave Newcastle the biggest chance to finish sixth, ahead of his former team and Chelsea. But the Magpies made sure that they prove them wrong and they were helped by a great Amad Diallo, who scored one and assisted for another goal. The young Ivorian came as a big talent from Atalanta but never got a proper chance and was sent to loans (Rangers and Sunderland) while various managers gave chances to expensive failures like Jadon Sancho, Antony, Martial and others. Tonight he was unstoppable and proved that he deserved a chance at Erik ten Hag’s team. As for the Dutchman, he brought back Bruno Fernandes back but benched Hojlund, who came in as a sub and scored the thrid goal of the game.United, no matter how poor at the moment, were a better side in the first half. They had more chances and they were all better and managed to take advantage off the Trippier mistake. It was United’s bright star Kobbie Mainoo who had the composure to finish in the 31st minute after Casemiro missed a chance and Garnacho’s shot was saved by Dubravka later. The visitors had nearly scored an equalizer in the 36th minute, but Dan Burn’s header was millimetres away from the goal line, and Casemiro cleared the ball. Newcastle was maybe robbed off for a penalty after 38 minutes, but Arambat’s tackle on Gordon was not even looked in the VAR room. The footage showed a wound on Gordon’s ankle after the tackle, but referees have a tendency to be very lenient with Manchester at Old Trafford.Just as the second half started, the Magpies levelled. After Arambat lost possession, Murphy’s cross from wide found Gordon, who took an instant shot and the visitors equalized. The young Amad stepped up in the 57th minute to get United back in front with a great and precise volley after a corner kick. There was a sea of bodies in front of Dubravka and he couldn’t see the ball from the young Ivorian. Coach Eddie Howe brought in heavy artillery in the form of Joelington and Almiron in the last half and hour, and the Brazilian had a huge chance, just like Longstaff minutes before him but Onana was there for both shots. When Hojlund scored the third goal, it was all over, and Lewis Hall’s great strike in injury time was just a consolation goal. It will be a must-win for the Magpies in the last round against Brentford in London.PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 34Delayed matchesTuesdayTottenham – Man.City 0-2 (0-0)/Haaland 51, 90+1/WednesdayBrighton – Chelsea 1-2 (0-1)/Welbeck 90+7 – Palmer 34,Nkunku 64/Man.Utd.- Newcastle 3-2 (1-0)/Mainoo 31, Diallo 57, Hojlund 84 – Gordon 49, Hall 90+2/
