Man Utd 0-0 Newcastle: More signs of progress as Toon frustrate Red Devils

It shows how far we've come when a draw at Old Trafford feels like a slight missed opportunity.

We had chances in the first half - Joelinton hit the woodwork twice, we were dangerous from set pieces and had two penalty calls waved away - but ended up holding on for a point as Man Utd had the better of a poor second 45.

For all of the home side's possession (63%), we limited the hosts to just two shots on target and defended well all afternoon, with Sven Botman and Fabian Schar both man mountains at the back.

The result ensures we'll remain in the top six for another week, consolidating our spot as the best defence in the league as the rarely tested Nick Pope picked up his fourth clean sheet of the season.

The build up to the game wasn't ideal. First we heard that Allan Saint-Maximin and Alexander Isak had suffered injury setbacks, then it was announced a few hours before kick off that Joe Willock was unlikely to start due to illness.

As a result, Joelinton came back into the side in our only change, as Dan Burn and Jacob Murphy kept their place down the left-hand side.

Elsewhere, it was great to see Jonjo Shelvey back in the squad for the first time this season after recovering from a long-term hamstring injury.

Onto the game itself, we made a strong start after watching Man Utd enjoy plenty of the ball in the first five minutes. We were first to loose balls, defending well, getting into good areas behind their midfield and looking a real threat from set pieces.

Our final ball was letting us down, however. Joelinton hit the post not once but twice with his head and a few wicked balls into the box came excruciatingly close to being turned home. There was also a couple of penalty calls that went against us, with Varane's trip on Wilson and pull on Dan Burn's shirt waved away by VAR.

Plenty encouraging signs, great to see us taking the game to Man Utd, playing with aggression and a high intensity, but a feeling of frustration that we went into the break level after being the better side.

It felt like a huge 45 minutes ahead, and we started well, winning get another high turnover after De Gea went short, however Wilson dragged his shot wide after we got the ball wide to our number nine.

In truth, we were well below our best in the second half. We defended well and frustrated Man Utd, but we lacked cutting edge on the ball, sat deep and conceded a little too much possession and territory to the home side.

We had one chance through Almiron, who blazed over after a clever corner kick routine found the in-form Paraguayan, but it was Man Utd who looked more likely to win it in the end.

Burn, Bruno, Schar, Murphy and Wilson all made way, with Targett, Willock, Lascelles, Fraser and Wood all coming on to see out what was a solid point away at Old Trafford, although it was very nearly defeat at Marcus Rashford headed just wide in the final minute of stoppage time.

Plenty room for improvement on the ball, a shame to see Bruno and Schar limp off and one of those days that could've been different had we taken those first-half chances, however it shows how far we've come that we're every so slightly disappointed to come away from Man Utd with a point.

Next up, Everton at St James' Park on Wednesday night!

STARTING XI: Pope – Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn – Longstaff, Guimaraes, Joelinton – Almiron, Wilson, Murphy.

SUBS: Karius, Lascelles, Lewis, Targett, Shelvey, Willock, Anderson, Fraser, Wood.