Sentiments out the window, it was my favourite team in the whole world (Manchester United) up against my third best team on the planet (Newcastle United) and only one was getting a 100% support from me. You already know that its Man Utd though Newcastle was in a more dire situation but like I said first things first and it is United for the mullah on the night. Newcastle have been a tough nut to crack in recent times and I hate when the Red Devils play against teams battling relegation.
Ole Gunnar Solskajaer (OGS) was on the brink of a 4th win in 4 games of being in charge and barring the outcome of the Liverpool game he would be the only manager to win in all festive period matches competed in. My worry despite Newcastle being a troublesome side was this clean sheet matter. Were we ever going to win games without conceding? In the final analysis, 3 points matter more.
In what I would like to describe as an exciting first half that brought about no goals, it got a bit nervy and I was worried stiff. The only positive was that my Red Devils had not conceded and maybe we looked like we would score. 0:0, half time scores. It was the first time Man Utd would not score in the first half of a game under OGS.
Manchester United’s dominance was evident but the goal didn’t seem to be in the offing despite chances created. Solskjaer must have remembered how Sir Alex Ferguson rode his luck in his playing days where he was tagged a super sub and brought on to help change the face of a tough game. OGS introduced Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez in the 63rd minute and in less than 50 seconds, the latter scored for the Red Devils with his first touch after Martin Dubravka in goal for Newcastle made a mess of Marcus Rashford’s free kick. The big Belgian responded quickly to pounce on the loose ball. 1:0 to Man Utd.
10 minutes to the end of the game and Alexis Sanchez was available to receive a pass from Romelu Lukaku and eventually assist Rashford for Manchester United’s 2nd goal. The only prayer at this point was a clean sheet as it was clear the Red Devils had the 3 points in the bag. Paul Pogba came close to adding a 3rd but was denied by the woodwork and a chance to score in 3 consecutive games for Manchester United.
2:0 the game ended and alas a first clean sheet for Manchester United under OGS. More wins and clean sheets to come.
Thanks for your time guys, trust the New Year started on a HIGH for y’all. BLESS!!!
