MADCHESTER
Pep fumes as loss leaves City eight points adrift in the title race Solskjaer despair as United sink two points from drop zone
MANCHESTER rivals City and United suffered shocking defeats yesterday, leaving Pep Guardiola’s champions a massive eight points behind Liverpool at the top of the table and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men just two points above the relegation zone.
Two late goals from Adama Traore gave Wolves a 2-0 win at the Etihad, then Newcastle teenager Matty Longstaff hit the only goal of the game against United at St James’ Park.
City boss Guardiola admitted his side have a mountain to climb to overhaul Liverpool, saying: ‘We were not at our level. The previous games were good. This was a bad day, sometimes it happens.
‘We got a little bit nervous. It is a lot of points. They (Liverpool) don’t drop many points. It is better not to think that one team is eight points ahead. The distance is big — I know that. Liverpool are not dropping points.’
United manager Solskjaer said: ‘We’re disappointed. We do lack quite a few key players but that’s no excuse. We’re in a position we’re not used to. Some of the boys lack composure and confidence, and you can tell. We don’t create enough chances to win a game.’
WHATEVER happens to Steve Bruce at Newcastle United, he will always have this.
He will always have the day he threw a local kid into his team and watched him wash away weeks of misery from St James’ Park with a carefree sweep of his right foot.
The fact that the club who fell at the feet of Matty Longstaff was Manchester United — the club Bruce captained with such distinction — only adds to one of the stories of the season so far.
More on the problems of this pitiful United team in a while but first to the glory.
Longstaff is 19 and had not been anywhere near Bruce’s Premier League side before. He had played once, in the EFL Cup. His older brother Sean has become a fixture but Matty has had to wait.
That they were chosen together here was due largely to circumstance. Bruce’s midfield has been hit by injury, suspension and dreadful form. So this initially looked more desperate than romantic but who cares about that after Longstaff capped an afternoon of hard graft to score the picture book goal that neither he nor his manager will ever forget.
Newcastle, so wretched in losing 5-0 at Leicester last week, had been forthright on the break all afternoon and when Allan Saint-Maximin led another gallop from deep with 18 minutes left, spaces opened up in front of the Gallowgate.
Saint-Maximin had options on both sides but went left to wingback Jetro Willems. He, too, had choices but one stood out above the others. Longstaff was coming like a train from deep and when Willems laid the ball into his path, he struck it purely and powerfully low to David de Gea’s right from 20 yards. The best goalkeeper in the league never had a prayer.
Predictably, the roof almost came off this old place. For a second, if only for a second, it even stopped raining. Newcastle had been threatening something like this but Longstaff would have been some way down most people’s list of probable scorers. No wonder he celebrated for so long.
There was a good chunk of time left for United to respond. But this is a new United not the old one. This one is so limited as to be boring. So here Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team laboured through the later stages and waited for something to drop for them.
It never did and was never deserved. Bruce was the boss who approached this game as if he had something to prove and it was reflected in his selection — five changes — and his team’s showing. Last week they surrendered but here they fronted up. Bruce deserves great credit for that.
Solskjaer’s United, on the other hand, just turned up and hoped. There was nothing new about them, nothing to suggest improvement on recent miserable efforts. They had one good chance all afternoon and that was headed wide by Harry Maguire just before half-time — a horror miss.
United simply must do better. They must be more motivated and must be better coached. They are 12th in the table now, one point ahead of Newcastle.
Newcastle are, remember, one of the favourites to go down and if United lose at home to rampaging Liverpool the other side of the international break then they will start to appear on the bookmakers’ relegation sheets too. After all, it is now 17 points from the last 17 league games under Solskjaer.
What a terrible mess United are in and the final few moments of this game summed them up.
Given a free-kick in a dangerous position on the left deep in added time, Solskjaer signalled for De Gea to join the attack. But the keeper was still ambling into the penalty area when the ball arrived, totally unable to make an impact. Young’s kick was too deep anyway and probably would have gone out of play had Newcastle keeper Martin Dubravka not caught it.
So this is Solskjaer’s United. Disorganised, lacking in cohesion and seemingly incapable of clear thinking. They are a rabble and they are getting worse.
Here they were missing key players. That is nobody’s fault. But a club like United should be able to cope. Sadly, they are not getting a single bit of help from a manager who just looks lost.
Here, Newcastle could have scored in the first minute, Saint-Maximin playing in Miguel Almiron who was foiled by Ashley Young. The home team remained flawed and ragged at times but they played with gusto at least and before half-time, Matty Longstaff had hit the bar from distance, Fabian Schar had headed a corner over and Almiron dallied when clean through and was tackled by Maguire.
Solskjaer’s team had plenty of the play in the second half but were too slow and predictable. As such they barely fashioned a chance.
To be generous to them a draw may have been fair but young Longstaff saw only opportunity and grabbed it. At full time he looked as though he wanted to stay out there for ever. When he was eventually persuaded to leave the field where his dreams had just been made, he wore a smile as wide as the Tyne.