Talking Points: United 0 Newcastle 0

Sunday 16 October 2022 16:44

Manchester United were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Newcastle United in a hard-fought contest at Old Trafford.

In a match of few clear-cut opportunities, the Reds had two to secure the three points late on, but were not able to capitalise.

First, excellent work from Marcus Rashford meant he rounded the keeper Nick Pope in a wide area, but Fred couldn’t steer the cutback home and then Rashford himself also had a header go wide from inside the box in the dying moments.

De Gea hits 500 games

David De Gea marked becoming only the 11th Red to reach 500 appearances with his 170th clean sheet for the club. Prior to kick-off, he was recognised for reaching te milestone in a special presentation made by Sir Alex Ferguson on the Old Trafford turf. Cristiano Ronaldo was also honoured after recently scoring his 700th club goal, against Everton.

Report: United 0 Newcastle 0

 Article

Marcus Rashford goes agonisingly close late on as the Reds are held at Old Trafford.

Should Ronaldo goal have stood?

In the second half, Cristiano Ronaldo had the ball in the back of the net twice in quick succession. The first was clearly offside, but the second left the Reds appealing to the referee after it was ruled out. The ball had been knocked back to Nick Pope and it looked as if the free-kick had been taken, inviting Ronaldo to steal possession and score. Referee Craig Pawson disagreed and Cristiano picked up a yellow card for his troubles.

VAR from ideal

Jadon Sancho was also left scratching his head when he wasn’t awarded a penalty in the second half. Replays clearly showed that the winger had been caught by the foot of Sean Longstaff in the area, but the shouts for a spot-kick were waved away and a VAR check, a little surprisingly, didn’t overturn the decision.

No goal for Antony

Sadly, as the saying goes, all great things must come to an end. That is exactly what happened to Antony’s record of a goal in every Premier League appearance so far. He had become the first United player to score in each of his first three appearances in the division last time out, at Everton, and was looking to become only the third player in Premier League history to score in each of his first four games today – but alas it was not to be. Nick Pope kept out his best effort, in the first half.

First draw

By being held by the Magpies, United recorded our first competitive draw under Erik ten Hag, having won five and lost three in the Premier League to this point. Erik's Reds remain fifth in the table, and are now unbeaten in four in all competitions.

Eriksen absent

Christian Eriksen did not feature in a game for the first time since joining the club in the summer on a free transfer. The influential Denmark international was ill and unavailable for selection, with Fred and Casemiro continuing their partnership in midfield. With Eriksen's former club, Tottenham, next up for the Reds, in a Wednesday night fixture at Old Trafford, it will be hoped the 30-year-old recovers in time for a crunch encounter.

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