Newcastle 2 Manchester United 0
Erik ten Hag has described Newcastle United as “annoying” for some time now but Manchester United’s manager did not perhaps bargain on Eddie Howe’s side becoming much more than a nuisance quite so quickly.
Confirmation that Newcastle are now serious rivals when it comes to the all important matter of Champions League qualification arrived as second-half goals from the excellent Joe Willock and the substitute Callum Wilson helped Howe’s team leapfrog their guests as they rose to third in the Premier League. Granted Manchester United are level on points but their goal difference is distinctly inferior.
If Howe enjoyed watching his players exert revenge for February’s Carabao Cup final defeat to the same opponents, Ten Hag’s irritation at being bested here surfaced as, deep in the second half, he and his Newcastle counterpart pointed fingers in each other’s face after the Dutchman accused Nick Pope, the home goalkeeper of time wasting. In the end he and Howe had to be separated by Manchester United’s assistant manager, Steve McClaren.
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Newcastle began by forcing the highest of tempos. At times it was thrillingly exhilarating but the concern for home fans was that it did not seem humanely possible for their team to maintain such ferocity and intensity for too long.
Howe could certainly have done with his side scoring an early goal but when Jacob Murphy created a decent opening courtesy of a cleverly chipped cross David de Gea came to Manchester United’s rescue.
Yet although De Gea’s fine double save kept out both Alexander Isak’s initial header and Willock’s follow up from the rebound, Manchester United, and Diogo Dalot in particular, were being persistently destabilised by Allan Saint-Maximin’s electric left-wing advances.
Indeed as Sean Longstaff sent a header swerving narrowly wide after connecting with one of Saint-Maximin’s crosses Ten Hag looked almost as agitated as Antony became whenever he entered Dan Burn’s orbit.
Perhaps sensibly, Manchester United’s manager instructed Antony and Marcus Rashford to temporarily, swap flanks, thereby briefly putting a stop to the former’s increasingly feisty duel with Burn.
That switch may well have come as a relief to Howe who will doubtless have noted those moments when Antony had the beating of his centre half turned emergency left back. As excellent as Burn has been this season there is a reason why a natural, high calibre, left back ranks high on Newcastle’s summer shopping list.
An extra central midfielder is another of Howe’s close season requirements and Scott McTominay – deputising for the visitors here in place of the suspended, and much missed, Casemiro – has his admirers inside St James’ Park. Accordingly this represented something of an audition for Scotland’s man of the moment and, sure enough, McTominay’s running battle with Bruno Guimarães proved a significant subplot.
Not for the first time in recent months Guimarães’s midfield sidekick Willock impressed, refusing to allow Ten Hag’s side to settle into any sort of proper rhythm. After making a late dash into the area and collecting Saint-Maximin’s counter-attacking cut back Willock really should have given Newcastle the lead but instead shot wildly off target.
Although, as half-time beckoned, Antony came close to volleying the visitors into the lead from Luke Shaw’s corner, Pope largely remained surprisingly untroubled in Newcastle’s goal. Tellingly Wout Weghorst, Ten Hag’s centre forward, had been fairly anonymous. It came as no real shock, when shortly after the interval, Weghorst was replaced by Anthony Martial in a double switch also involving Jadon Sancho’s replacement of Antony. Admittedly with some justification Antony looked distinctly unamused about being hooked.
If half-time had provided something of a respite for Dalot, Ten Hag’s right back soon found himself being given the run around by Saint-Maximin once more.
Appropriately enough, the French winger created Willock’s goal, meeting Guimarães’s delicate cross and heading it back across goal, leaving the scorer with the straightforward task of nodding the ball beyond De Gea. Hats off to Willock though; surely an England call up cannot be too far away.
Credit too, to Isak who, in turning Raphaël Varane and holding the ball up superbly, permitted Saint-Maximin to conjure that incisive cross.
Wilson then stepped off the bench and promptly dodged Victor Lindelöf, newly on for Varane, to head Newcastle’s second after connecting with a typically stellar Kieran Trippier free-kick, conceded needlessly by Shaw. – Guardian
West Ham 1 Southampton 0
West Ham made the latest upward move in the see-saw relegation battle with a nervy 1-0 Premier League win over basement side Southampton.
After results on Saturday conspired to leave the Hammers second from bottom, Nayef Aguerd’s first-half header rocketed them to the heady heights of 14th.
“Must-win’” games have been a regular occurrence for under-pressure manager David Moyes this season, but just as they had done against Everton and Nottingham Forest recently, his team pulled out a victory when they needed it most.
With Leicester the latest club to swing the axe – the news of Brendan Rodgers’ departure filtered through during this match – only Moyes and Steve Cooper at Forest of the bottom nine sides have kept their jobs this season.
West Ham’s latest win was far from pretty, but after an opening 25 minutes bordering on the torturous, and with home fans voicing their frustration at a lack of attacking intent, the hosts took the lead.
Jarrod Bowen was clattered by Duje Caleta-Car just inside the Southampton half and Thilo Kehrer swung the resulting free-kick into a crowded penalty area.
Morocco defender Aguerd steered a beautifully-controlled header into the net and, after an agonising three-minute VAR review for offside, the goal was given.
It was a first goal for the club for Aguerd – who missed the first half of the season through injury – and it lifted the mood in the London Stadium instantly.
Lukasz Fabianski, back in the West Ham goal after a fractured cheekbone, kept Southampton at bay when he palmed away Romain Perraud’s deflected shot.
West Ham were inches away from going in two goals up at half-time when Bowen’s curler from the edge of the box clipped the crossbar.
Southampton battled manfully after the break, with Kamaldeen Sulemana firing wide and Romeo Lavia testing Fabianski with a low drive.
For the Hammers, Kurt Zouma headed over the top, Bowen’s close-range prod was held by Gavin Bazuna and Lucas Paqueta fired off target at the far post.
Saints almost snatched a point five minutes from time when substitute Paul Onuachu nodded James Ward-Prowse’s cross against the crossbar.
But the south-coast side have only earned 11 points in 15 games since Ralph Hasenhuttl was sacked in November and their third coach of the season, Ruben Selles, faces an increasingly-difficult task to keep them afloat.
The Hammers are breathing a little easier, albeit only two points above the drop zone, but they can put further daylight between themselves and the bottom three at home to Newcastle on Wednesday.
