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Manchester United were beaten by Newcastle for the second time in a month as they fell to their sixth Premier League defeat of the season at St James' Park.
Anthony Gordon grabbed the only goal of the game, though in truth the Magpies could have scored three or four. The visitors had just 40% of the ball and spent much of the evening chasing their opponents around the pitch as Eddie Howe's men peppered Andre Onana's box.
With the stench of Wednesday dreary 3-3 draw with Galatasaray still stinging United's nostrils, Erik ten Hag had a few big decisions to make ahead of tonight's frosty clash in the even frostier north-east. Here's how he got on, starting with the things he got wrong.
READ MORE: Erik ten Hag looking to 'fast-track' Man Utd legend's son after first-team opportunity
READ MORE: Man Utd's flight to Newcastle cancelled as icy weather takes its toll hours before game
Martial over Hojlund
While Rasmus Hojlund hasn't exactly hit the ground running at Man United, he was surely the man to lead the line from the off today, particularly given the quality – or lack thereof – of his alternative, Anthony Martial.
The Frenchman strolled around the pitch looking typically uninterested, and even had on-field tizzy with Ten Hag after being blamed for not tracking back as Newcastle sprang a counter attack. Given the energy and physicality of Howe's side, picking a lackadaisical Martial over a hungry Hojlund with a point to prove was an unquestionable mistake. The ex-Monaco man was hooked, to precisely no one's surprise, on 61 minutes.
Rate Man Utd's performance out of 10 in the comments section below.
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Varane on the bench
Luke Shaw has looked surprisingly good at centre back this season, and Harry Maguire's form is picking up, but one of them definitely should have made way for Raphael Varane tonight.
Rumours of a behind-the-scenes fall-out aside, Ten Hag had no business leaving his most experienced, and arguably best, defender out of a game like this, particularly given the pace and physicality of Newcastle's attack. Maguire looked a little erratic in the second half and cost United an equaliser by standing in an offside position as Antony squeezed the ball home. Perhaps a certain benched Frenchman wouldn't have been quite so problematic.
Rashford on the right
It might seem a little unfair to criticise Ten Hag for playing Marcus Rashford on the right-hand side of his attack given the way United's domestic form has picked up since he made the switch from the left back in October, but it's clear the England man isn't comfortable there.
He was noticeably unnoticeable, and cut the figure of bored schoolboy dawdling behind his mum at the supermarket when Newcastle had the ball. He hasn't done anything to warrant unseating Alejandro Garnacho on the left, but given the quality he showed in spells last season playing there, Ten Hag might want to consider putting him back.
Giving Mainoo a go
It was a brave call to hand 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo a start in central midfield, but in hindsight, it was also the wrong call. Granted, Ten Hag wasn't exactly blessed with options in the middle, with the likes of Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen and Casemiro all out, but could his show of faith not have waited for a less intense evening's football?
Mainoo struggled to make an impact and looked a little lost as Newcastle's energetic stars passed their through him and Scott McTominay, and given that Sofyan Amrabat was on the bench, this has to go down as a selection misfire.
Ten Hag did, however, get a couple of things right:
Shaw at centre back
Ten Hag has used Luke Shaw at centre back a lot this season, mostly as emergency cover, but he's really grown into the position and looked United's most comfortable defender on a night where they barely had any breathers.
With Varane on the bench, picking Shaw was a massive call, particularly against such strong opposition, and although they came away with nothing, you'd have to say Ten Hag got this one bang on. Though, as we mentioned above, picking Maguire over Varane wasn't quite so smart.
Faith in Onana
Sure, it would have been a bit of an overreaction for Ten Hag to drop Onana tonight, in spite of the Cameroonian's ever-growing list of blunders, but he still showed a degree of composure by keeping the error-prone £47million man in the side.
There were a couple of wobbles, including a nervous flap at a corner inside the first few minutes, but it was an otherwise decent performance from the United goalkeeper. If he ends up turning his Old Trafford career, he'll have ten Hag's continued faith, amidst a cacophony of calls to drop or even sell him, to thank for it.
- Manchester United FC
- Newcastle United FC
- Premier League
- Erik ten Hag
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