Manchester United suffered a devastating 4-0 defeat at the hands of Newcastle at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Alejandro Garnacho cancelled out a Sandro Tonali opener to ensure the two sides went down the tunnel with the score level.
Newcastle came out firing in the second half and Harvey Barnes struck twice before an Altay Bayndir mistake allowed Bruno Guimaraes a late fourth to pile further misery on the visitors.
The result has seen United drop down to 14th position in the Premier League, behind 13th-placed Everton on goal difference. This will now be statistically the Red Devils’ worst-ever Premier League campaign in terms of points tally.
Several United players simply didn’t turn up and especially in the defensive department, where multiple errors were made.
Victor Lindelof falls firmly in this category. With Harry Maguire dropping to the bench, Lindelof was given the nod to start at the heart of United’s three-man defence but he failed to deliver.
He was especially poor for Newcastle’s opener, failing to get tight enough to Alexander Isak, who had the time and space to dink the ball into the path of Tonali, who smashed a ferocious finish past Bayindir.
During the time he was on the pitch, Lindelof made four clearances and one interception. He put in just one tackle.
The Swede won just one of the two ground duels he contested. He was poor aerially, losing all four aerial challenges that he vied for.
He touched the ball 46 times and found his teammates with 36 of the 38 passes he attempted (95% pass accuracy). Lindelof failed to produce even one block.
(Stats obtained from Sofascore)
It’s well-known that Lindelof is on his way out of the club, with his contract set to expire this summer. He certainly played like a man fully aware his time at Old Trafford is about to come to an end.
Hopefully, moving forward, Ruben Amorim will put faith in players who are guaranteed to stay at the club beyond the summer transfer window. United are back in action on Thursday whenthey host Lyon for the return leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie.
Featured image George Wood via Getty Images
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Derick Kinoti
Derick Kinoti is a football writer at The Peoples Person who has covered Manchester United and the game extensively for many years. He is a keen analyst with expertise in SEO and journalism standards. Derick is convinced Wayne Rooney is the true GOAT and won’t hear otherwise!
