Newcastle vs Manchester United result: Romelu Lukaku goal immediate reward for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
Five things we learned from Manchester United's 2-0 win at St James' Park
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Your support makes all the difference.Manchester United continued their fine run of form with a win over Newcastle United.
The hard-fought 2-0 victory continues Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s perfect start to life at the club.
And it was Solskjaer’s second-half substitute which turned this game around.
With the score still goalless and United floundering, Solskjaer threw on Romelu Lukaku who scored with his very first touch, less than a minute after coming on. Rashford then finished late on to make sure of the win.
Here are five things we learned from the contest.
Lukaku delivers when it matters
He had only been on the pitch for a matter of seconds.
Romelu Lukaku has endured a torrid few weeks at Old Trafford but he stepped up to the plate here, taking advantage of a criminal Martin Dubravka mistake just moments after being thrown on by an increasingly concerned Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
It was probably one of the scruffiest goals he will ever score – but Lukaku won’t care a jot. He now has two goals in the two matches he has played under his new caretaker manager as he continues to rebuild a career that looked in serious danger of flat lining.
Atsu so frustrating in front of goal
Christian Atsu must be one of the Premier League’s most underrated footballers.
The 26-year-old is a wonderfully hard-working, creative player, and was treated to the biggest cheer of the first-half when he nerveless nutmegged Paul Pogba on the edge of his own box.
However the Ghanaian continues to frustrate in front of goal. Atsu has never been truly prolific in front of goal – he has scored just two Premier League goals despite making over 50 appearances in the English top flight – and his profligacy showed in the first-half. Twice he found himself in space in Manchester United’s penalty area, twice he shot far too close to David de Gea.
Solskjaer in esteemed company
What a start Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has made to his time as Manchester United manager.
This battling victory saw the Norwegian become just the second manager in United's history to win his first four league games in charge, emulating Matt Busby in 1946.
Things couldn’t have gone much better for Solskjaer since replacing Jose Mourinho and every positive result such as this only strengthens the argument for him to be handed the job on a permanent basis. Perhaps United’s next Premier League match – away to Tottenham – will show just how ready he is.
United remain a little lopsided
Despite all the positives, Manchester United are far from the finished article.
Although they are a force to be reckoned with down the left-hand side – with Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw repeatedly threatening – Juan Mata’s natural inclination to drift inside meant that Newcastle were able to shift their defence across and effectively narrow the game.
Antonio Valencia also looked a little sluggish on his return to the side. It’s a problem for Solskjaer, who is a big fan of Mata and yet is hardly likely to drop or move Paul Pogba, given the Frenchman’s outstanding recent form.
Newcastle continue to punch above their weight
Just before this match kicked-off, a statistic began doing the rounds on Twitter.
Newcastle’s entire starting XI cost a measly £41.2m to assemble. Roughly about 46% of Paul Pogba’s transfer fee.
The stat illustrated just how much Newcastle are punching above their weight in the Premier League under Rafa Benitez. Defeat may leave Newcastle just two points above the drop zone, but they once again equipped themselves well against one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs and were unlucky not to snatch a point. They should have too much to go down.
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