“Absolutely outstanding”: Gary Neville showers praise on “brilliant” youngster who dominated Newcastle

Considering how the odds were firmly stacked against them, Manchester United did brilliantly to overcome Newcastle 1-0 at Old Trafford on Boxing Day. The home side were without two of their most attacking forces in Amad and Bryan Mbeumo, and a couple of their best defenders in Matthijs de Ligt and Harry Maguire. The biggest miss was skipper Bruno Fernandes, while Kobbie Mainoo’s absence meant the midfield resources were stretched thin. However, Ruben Amorim’s decision to play with a flat back-four with Patrick Dorgu as a right winger certainly caught the visitors by surprise. Gary Neville on Amorim’s bizarre calls That was not all as the head coach’s substitutions got even wilder as the match progressed with the backline consisting of three players below 21 and a bomb squad member who seemed destined to leave last summer by the end of the game. United legend Gary Neville harped on that to BBC after the game, but praised the Red Devils for their strong first- half showing, which ultimately secured them the three points. “An incredible second half. I thought Manchester United edged the first half. I thought they did really well, but then the substitutions came. “The shape, the players on the pitch got even more bizarre, but they hung on.” While Patrick Dorgu will rightfully claim the plaudits, Gary Neville also had special words of praise for Ayden Heaven. Special praise for Heaven “Ayden Heaven was absolutely outstanding, that young man. He was absolutely brilliant. He headed everything clear, and he rightly gets a hug from Luke Shaw and the coaching staff.” Introduced into the first XI on the back of De Ligt’s injury, the ex-Arsenal youth product started shakily but has since gone on to make the position his own. Even if the Dutchman and former skipper Maguire were to return, they would find it hard to dislodge Ayden Heaven from the starting lineup. It is clear Amorim trusts him a lot, and it has all but ended rumours of a potential exit in January. 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 Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25