(Football news) Newcastle United managed to avenge their Carabao Cup defeat against Manchester United with a 2-0 win at St. James’ Park in the Premier League. With 52,268 in attendance, the Magpies showed great passion, effort and hard work to overcome Erik ten Hag’s side to leapfrog their opponents and take third place on the table. Midfielder Joe Willock scored the opening goal in the 65th minute by heading into close range, redeeming himself for two glaring misses in the first half while substitute Callum Wilson doubled the advantage in the 88th minute from a set piece.
The 2-0 scoreline flattered Manchester United, who could have conceded more in what was a very flat performance from Erik ten Hag’s side. Marcus Rashford, who has been in sensational form this season only managed to get one shot on target while the likes of Wout Weghorst and Scott McTominay had dreadful performances. The result means that Manchester United could be fifth if Tottenham manage to avoid defeat against Everton but the London based side have also played two games more.
Speaking after the match, Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag branded his team’s performance as “not good enough” as they “created nothing”. He said “I hate to say it, they were better today. Especially in determination, passion and desire. They wanted to win more this week. So they won. We had our opportunities but then you have to go for a goal with the determination they did. It wasn’t good enough. We allowed them too many chances. In the past we were better. You have to be hungry, give everything, every game. We didn’t break them. That is the conclusion, we didn’t create good chances. Best chance is for Anthony Martial on the equaliser. Not good enough.”
Newcastle United defender Dan Burn said “It’s really special. For a long time, we’ve always disliked Manchester United. We’ve owed them one this season, so it was good to get the win today. As a Newcastle fan we were desperate to get the win. Over the seasons this [fixture] has always been one where we want to beat Manchester United. I feel like we owed them one after the cup final.
“We didn’t take that lightly so we came out and stuck to our game plan. It’s a big three points. Losing a cup final hurts a lot you know? So we took that anger into this game. From the start, we dominated play. I could have even scored more and was disappointed not to come in with a goal or two. I saw with them a desire, they wanted revenge and they got it. We have to leave it behind, it’s a setback and [we need to] learn from this lesson about passion and desire.”
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