Manchester United picked up a 3-1 win over Newcastle on Sunday evening thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Daniel James and Bruno Fernandes. But it was an underwhelming performance from the Red Devils, and they were clearly lacking quality in midfield.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer watched on as his side picked up a 3-1 win over Newcastle (Image: GETTY)
However, the lead was short lived as Allan Saint-Maximin pounced on a poor headed clearance from Harry Maguire to deliver a smart finish and put the Toon on level terms.
Dan James put United ahead again with a low strike after being played in by Nemanja Matic, before a Bruno Fernandes penalty wrapped up all three points.
But United fans were left demanding more from their side as they were once again carried by the pace of Rashford and James on the wings.
Paul Pogba was missing after suffering a thigh injury against Everton (Image: GETTY)
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One of the biggest areas of concern will no doubt be in defence, but the midfield was incredibly stale, playing wayward passes and lacking the energy needed from a deep-plying pair.
Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay both missed out due to injuries.
But they were both huge misses, showing why Solskjaer just cannot afford to sell Pogba this summer as reports continue to suggest might be the case.
Since coming back into the team, Pogba’s passing ability has opened up a world of possibilities, while he has shown he does have the work rate to play in mid
United were also missing McTominay’s daring runs from deep which have made him such an important player in recent months.
Fred has not scored a Premier League goal in over two years, while he got his first assist of the season in the 4-0 walkover in midweek.
He plays box-to-box and shouldn’t necessarily be completely evaluated by goal contributions, but surely he should be making more of an impact than that.
Despite grabbing an assist, Matic is undoubtedly past his best, playing sideways passes and mopping up easy challenges is not enough to warrant a place in a team that are supposed to be challenging for the title.