Man Utd’s need for a striker was obvious at Old Trafford today against Newcastle.
Here’s a lowdown of what you need to know from the game.
TWEET OF THE MATCH
Racing pundit and Newcastle fan John McCririck
Krul + the Gang stirring defence. Toon @NUFC grabbing pt miraculous Best 0-0 draw of whole season? #HowayTheLads ! Brill Watch out Gunners!
— John McCririck (@RealMcCririck) August 22, 2015
RealMcCririck “Krul + the Gang stirring defence. ToonNUFC grabbing pt miraculous Best 0-0 draw of whole season? £HowayTheLads ! Brill Watch out Gunners!”
PLAYER RATINGS
Manchester United:
ROMERO: 6 out of 10
DARMIAN: 7
SMALLING: 8
BLIND: 6
SHAW: 7
SCHWEINSTEIGER: 6
SCHNEIDERLIN: 6
MATA: 6
JANUZAJ: 6
DEPAY: 6
ROONEY: 5
Substitutes:
CARRICK: 7
HERNANDEZ: 6
VALENCIA: 6
Newcastle:
KRUL: 8
MBEMBA: 6
TAYLOR: 7
COLOCCINI: 8
HAIDARA: 8
COLBACK: 7
ANITA: 6
PEREZ: 6
WIJNALDUM: 6
OBERTAN: 5
MITROVIC: 7
Substitutes:
THAUVIN: 6
TIOTE: 6
CISSE: 6
STAR PLAYER:
Fabricio Coloccini: Newcastle looked inept at the back against Swansea last week but today they were rigid and never lost concentration. Coloccini was the stand-out performer in the back four, throwing his body on the line when it mattered, particularly in the dying stages.
MOMENT OF THE MATCH
Tim Krul’s save from Javier Hernandez. Krul was just as key to the result as Coloccini’s efforts in front of him. The ball fell to Hernandez in the box in the 79th minute as United launched attack after attack but Krul came storming off his line and stretched his arms to deny the Mexican.
VIEW FROM THE BENCH
Steve McClaren resisted the temptation to give Florian Thauvin his full debut and instead chose to pack the midfield, with Aleksandar Mitrovic playing as a lone striker. The move paid off as Bastian Schweinsteiger and Morgan Schneiderlin had little impact on the game. Van Gaal bemoaned his team’s failure to break down well-organised defensively-minded teams when they came to Old Trafford last year and he is yet to find a solution. Memphis Depay threatened occasionally but the hosts rarely looked like they were capable of scoring.
MOAN OF THE MATCH
Wayne Rooney: Failed once more in front of goal. Van Gaal insists Rooney is capable of leading the line for United, but he has now failed to score in 10 matches. Van Gaal’s faith in the striker is admirable, but on this evidence the skipper is not up to the job.
WHO’S UP NEXT
Manchester United v Club Brugge (Champions League, Wednesday 26 August)
Newcastle v Northampton (Capital One Cup, Tuesday 25 August)