Rohan Sengupta
Newcastle United skipper Jamaal Lascelles has taken a cheeky dig at Manchester United following their narrow 1-0 win over the Red Devils on Sunday.
A second-half goal from Matt Ritchie proved to be enough to bag all three points at St. James’ Park. The win ensured that the Magpies moved up to 13th in the table, two points clear of 18th-placed Southampton, who lost 2-0 to Liverpool at St.Mary’s yesterday.
After the game, Lascelles was outspoken in his assessment of Jose Mourinho’s side, claiming that our defence had no idea what to do with the ball when under pressure.
“First-half, they were making a lot of mistakes, giving the ball away,” Lascelles was quoted by the Independent.
“I think it was down to our pressing, being aggressive and on the front foot. And obviously, they didn’t like it. I could see their centre-halves on the ball, and didn’t know what to do with it. I don’t think they were at it from the start. A lot of their players were missing.
“I don’t think United turned up today. When you play against Arsenal and Manchester City, you can really see their quality. One mistake or a lack of concentration, and a goal will go in. Today, we just wanted it a lot more.”
No doubts, the Newcastle skipper was absolutely spot on with his overall assessment of the game. The Toon Army just wanted it more than United and they showed it with every passing minute on the pitch.
The hunger, the desire to win the ball back, the pressing; United were always second best to Newcastle. We did grow into the game in the second half, but to be very honest, we never settled in. Anthony Martial should have given us the lead but he failed to. Alexis Sanchez also spurned a glorious chance before Martial missed two gilt-edged chances in the second-half.
If our attackers had an off day, our defence simply fell apart. Chris Smalling and Phil Jones endured a torrid time at Tyneside and in my opinion, the former should be dropped for Marcos Rojo or Victor Lindelof.
We have Champions League round of 16 tie against Sevilla coming up next week and if Mourinho goes with the same defence, then we can wave the CL hopes goodbye. It is indeed high time Mourinho sorts out the mess ahead of our trips to Huddersfield (FA Cup) and Sevilla (Champions League).
