Manchester United beat Newcastle United 2-0 at St James' Park
Wednesday 2 January 2019 23:57, UK
Manchester United won 2-0 against Newcastle on Wednesday night. Their brilliant forward options are now apparent under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer...
It was another wonderful night for interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he became the first Manchester United manager since Sir Matt Busby to win his first four games in charge of the club. There was even a first clean sheet in the 2-0 win at Newcastle. But the real excitement for United supporters stems from the abundance of attacking talent now on show.
Where was this quality under Jose Mourinho? "The investment that has gone into the squad has been huge," Gary Neville told Sky Sports when discussing the forward options before the game. "They have spent £400m in the last couple of years. It has got to be somewhere and here it is. It's on the bench tonight in Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez."
For the second game in a row, Lukaku came off the bench to score. This time he needed less than a minute to make the difference - another super substitution by United's original super substitute. Marcus Rashford added the second - the third time in four games that he has been among the scorers. His goal was set up expertly by Sanchez.
"Sanchez has been a world-class player for the last six or seven years," Neville pointed out. "I don't buy into this idea that in the last six months he has suddenly become a bad player or become someone who cannot play football three times a week because his legs have gone. He still should be capable of destroying teams."
Jesse Lingard was the third substitute introduced. He already has two goals under Solskjaer. Paul Pogba has four. Anthony Martial scored arguably the pick of United's 14 goals over the festive period to underline not only the depth of talent that's available to the manager but the performances of which they are capable when used properly.
It was only in September that Martial was being criticised by his former manager for not being focused on his defensive duties.
Now he is being encouraged to attack.
It was only in October that people who called for Rashford to get more starts were accused of being "a bit confused" about his involvement.
Now, included despite picking up a knock against Bournemouth, he is on a run of eight consecutive Premier League starts for the first time since making his first nine appearances in the competition under Louis van Gaal.
Pogba's improvement is so obvious it barely needs explaining. "The fact of the matter is that he is now performing how he should be and that is a massive plus for United," said Neville.
The upshot of it all is that there is now much more fluency about United in the final third. "The spring in the counter-attack is there," added Neville. "When they play the through ball into strikers' feet, bounce passes, they look really dangerous. There is that little movement. To be honest with you, combinations that I have not seen."
Solskjaer had described this game as his team's "first proper test" and while there were some shaky moments at the back, they came through it. In doing so, they gave everyone a reminder that if they can keep the opposition out then the attacking talent is there - in the starting line-up and on the bench - to win lots of matches.
It will take more for United to overhaul their rivals in the race for the top four. Next up in the Premier League it is Mauricio Pochettino's Tottenham at Wembley and all eyes will be on how that tactical battle plays out between the two managers. But for the first time in a long time, United fans will just welcome the fact that they can see the true quality in this squad.
