4 dribbles,17 duels won, 63% passing: United one-trick-pony was their only hope in Newcastle defeat

Manchester United were given a brutal reality check at Newcastle United, going down 2-1 in Michael Carrick’s first defeat in charge. The stage was set for the Red Devils to romp one step closer to the Champions League as results around them went their way. Things got even better when their hosts went down to ten men late in the first half, but United failed to capitalise in a chronically lacklustre performance. Cunha a bright spark On the whole United were devoid of any attacking guile, but if there was one man causing problems for Newcastle it was Matheus Cunha. The Brazilian engaged in a grim battle with Kieran Trippier down United’s left flank, and wriggled past him on more than one occasion. Cunha was successful with four of an attempted seven dribbles, winning double the amount of the rest of the team combined. He also entered a whopping 26 duels and came out on top 17 times, winning five more than anyone else on the pitch. That breaks down as ten of 15 ground duels won, and seven of 11 in the air. Wasteful in possession But it was far from a complete performance from the 26-year-old, who recorded comfortably the lowest pass completion rate of any outfield player on the pitch. In finding his man 24 times from 38 passes he recorded a completion rate of just 63%, although a certain allowance should be given for him playing speculative passes to try and get attacks going. That resulted in one key pass, and two inaccurate crosses. He was, however, fairly effective in breaking up play and made two interceptions, the joint-most of anyone in red. He also contributed two clearances and one tackle. He came up short in his main role, getting one shot on target, one blocked and seeing one particularly good chance fly far off target. Matheus Cunha vs. Newcastle United PlayerMatheus Cunha Goals0 Expected goals (xG)0.17 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0.06 Key passes1 Crosses (accurate)2 (0) Accurate passes24/38 (63%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)15/26 (58%) Passes in own half (acc.)9/12 (75%) Total shots3 Expected goals on target (xGOT)0.04 Shots on target1 Shots blocked1 Touches67 Unsuccessful touches2 Dribbles (successful)7 (4) Was fouled5 Possession lost22 Total carrying distance219.1 m Carries19 Progressive carries5 Total progression121.8 m Progressive carrying distance106 m Longest progressive carry22.1 m Def. contributions5 Tackles (won)1 (1) Interceptions2 Clearances2 Blocked shots0 Recoveries4 Ground duels (won)15 (10) Aerial duels (won)11 (7) Fouls1 Dribbled past0 Stats taken from sofascore. The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Joe Ponting Joe has spent more than half his life writing about football and all of it following United. As a child he told a doctor his name was ‘Paul Scholes’, but could never pick a pass like him no matter how much he tried. He cut his teeth working in print media for local newspapers and entered football journalism covering the grassroots game for the Non-League Paper. Here he achieved a career high, interviewing United legend Sir Bobby Charlton to get his views on the lower echelons of the football pyramid. To kill time during international breaks Joe writes album reviews and has strong views on post punk for Plus One Magazine.