Manchester United were held by Newcastle at Old Trafford as Erik ten Hag’s men failed to find a way past the resilient visitors, with United now falling three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.
Brief moments of domination aside, United were largely made redundant by Newcastle and their possession was more often than not passes with very little threat.
Speaking after the game, despite United’s lack of penetration, manager Ten Hag has insisted that United’s performance was good and that they should have won the game.
“The performance was good, a clean sheet, we pressed well, we controlled the game and in stages we were good on the ball – especially in the second half,” Ten Hag is quoted as saying by the BBC.
“Then, we dictated the game and in the end we could – we should – have score the winning goal. One from Fred, and then [Marcus] Rashford had to score.
“In the end we could have got the win, we deserved the win, and it is a big compliment to the team that we deserved this with a physical performance against one of the most physical teams in the league. They [Newcastle players] all had cramp and we kept going.
“The team understands from front to back we cooperate together. We are hard to beat and we must keep that going.”
At the end of the day, today’s draw will be two massive points dropped for Ten Hag’s men and especially when you take a look at the upcoming fixtures.
United welcome high-flying Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford in just four days and three days after that, they will be making the trip to Stamford Bridge.
Ten Hag will be hoping to have a couple of players back for those two games, with Christian Eriksen’s absence against Newcastle being the most obvious one.
Anthony Martial has performed well whenever he has played but the Frenchman has been unlucky with injuries so far. Hopefully, he will be passed fit soon.
