Unsung hero, Isak and captain fantastic - Five takeaways from Man Utd 0-2 Newcastle
United comfortably beat Manchester United two nil at Old Trafford on Monday night to record only our second win in Salford since 1973. It was a wonderful cakewalk of an evening and, ultimately, United could’ve scored many more but decided to simply hold a side in the relegation conversation at arm’s length instead.
Two headers from Alexander Isak and Joelinton wrapped up the victory inside 19 minutes, when the lads shut up shop and let the Red Devils show themselves up for the absolute travesty of a football team that they are.
Here are our five key takeaways from the game:
- The most assured opening half you’re ever likely to see
Immediately from the kick-off, United proved who the better of the two teams were. The composure, desire, pace, movement and quality only came from the lads in Black and White; with the midfield three making Erikson and Casemiro look like old men and pulling them apart with ease (Trippier played a huge part too on Monday), Isak make a mockery of World Cup winner Martínez, and Hall made ex-Mackem Diallo look like the over-hyped kid that he is.
We were simply sensational and dominated the opening twenty minutes so completely we forced Ruben ‘Interim’ into bringing another body into their midfield. Newcastle will not get any praise in the national media (in fact, Sky didn’t even bother to play an interview with the gaffer after the game) but make no mistake we controlled that game and toyed with them by holding them at arm’s length like an old-fashioned Saturday morning cartoon character.
For any fan who experienced the ‘90’s and had to watch Man Utd win everything and break out hearts on multiple occasions the first 45 mins was a beautiful tonic and a brilliant final half-game to 2024.
- Isak and his (almost) perfect December
Alexander Isak is the best striker in the Premier League and, perhaps, the world at the minute. He scored in a sixth game in a row and is in such a rich vein of form, the Swede has had an almost perfect December from a personal point of view with eight goals and two assists in the month.
In a week when the southern based medias collective head has fallen off over a reported £150m price tag – well, you can add another few million to the lads’ value after Monday night’s outing, and let’s be honest he could’ve had another hattrick on the evening.
Alan Shearer aside, I’ve never seen a better striker than Isak playing in Black and White. He can do a bit of everything and forces opposition to put two men on him all the time, opening up space for others to exploit. He’s lightning quick, has a balletic first touch, and makes almost untrackable, intelligent runs too – he’s nearly the complete forward.
Now if he could just sort his one-on-one finishing…
- Bruno G. – Captain Fantastic
A pure man-of-the-match performance from the captain. He was sensational. Bruno is proving to be incredible when he’s played in the more advanced midfield role. It allows him to use his oodles of technical ability, invariably pick the right pass, and he is now picking up key passes and assists with swazz and panache.
Factor in his press resistance and his ability to win freekicks and the Brazilian really appears to be shifting through the gears now. And at 27 he is coming into his prime as a footballer too. Wow.
- Burn and Hall: The rock-solid Geordie Boys
Fast becoming an unsung hero, it was another assured performance from Dan Burn. He is a consistent seven/eight out of ten every week and he is proving to be an accomplished centre half. Botman may come in when he returns from his long injury layoff, but Burn deserves plaudits for his steadying, commanding performances. His size makes him a unique challenge for opposition strikers, and he is excellent on the ball for a big man too.
But it is also Burn’s left sided partnership with Lewis Hall which is fast becoming a potent attacking outlet and a rock-solid defensive unit (especially with Gordon tucking in and tracking back in tandem too.) Hall is on the road to becoming one of the best attacking fullbacks in the league, but he was defensively stout too on Monday night putting in some crucial blocks.
Simply outstanding from the two United fans in the team.
- Tonali: The Italian Stallion
I feel like I should be trying to come up with something new to say about the Italian maestro, but we can all see it with our own eyes, the lad is a sumptuous footballer, and we are now seeing why Milan were so devastated to lose their star man. He is the rare blend of graft and quality – as I wrote earlier this week.
Since coming into the starting eleven he has elevated our midfield to another level and truly, is there a better midfield three than ours in the league? Not for my money, they’re all complimenting each other’s style of play, they’re all covering each other’s weaknesses and they’re now putting in consistent performance’s week after week and overpowering opposition with ease.
United are now only three points behind Chelsea after their defeat against Ipswich and only five points behind Forest in second too. Our dreams for the season are well and truly on, and with the side we have at the minute, playing as they are, anything appears to be possible in 2025.
Happy New Year and HWTL
