GRIFFITHS CONJURES UP SOME MORE MAGIC
If Manchester United are to overhaul Manchester City’s eight-point advantage at the top of the table and win this season’s Premier League title, then this was the blueprint of how to do it.
Jose Mourinho took the shackles off, went with three strikers and saw his United side come from behind and eventually overwhelm Newcastle.
Grinding out results will not do – they will have to be on full throttle.
To aid any prospective charge, his big guns, Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, were back in the fold to add that touch of class and Romelu Lukaku was back in the goals.
All this proved too much for his old nemesis, Rafa Benitez, in their first meeting for over a decade.
They faced each other 16 times in a little over three years when managing Chelsea and Liverpool respectively, but they had since embarked on separate paths around Europe.
But while the Portuguese has maintained his status challenging for titles, the Spaniard’s task on Tyneside is about re-establishing the club in the top flight.
City’s win at Leicester earlier in the day had ensured that nothing less than maximum points would do for United.
After just two goals and four points from the previous four league games, Mourinho had to release the handbrake.
For the first time this season, Lukaku, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were all named in the starting line-up as the side showed real attacking thrust.
Record signing Pogba was restored to the midfield while there was the welcome sight of Ibrahimovic and Marcos Rojo on the bench after recovering from long-term injuries.
Benitez had no such luxuries. Captain Jamaal Lascelles was absent in defence and Christian Atsu was another missing, with Ciaran Clark and Jacob Murphy brought in to plug the gaps.
As expected, the home side were on the front foot from the off. Antonio Valencia charged forward from right-back and pulled it back for Lukaku, but the Belgian’s rightfoot effort from six yards was just over.
The striker was looking for his first United goal since the end of September and tried again with a header moment later but only directed straight into the hands of Rob Elliot.
However, Old Trafford was stunned as Newcastle took a shock lead and became the first visitors to score a league goal here this season.
But it was another horror moment for the Reds’ Swedish defender Victor Lindelof, who had been recalled after two excellent displays for his country against Italy in the World Cup play-offs,
Lindelof lost his footing in the area and could only watch as De Andre Yedlin’s pull-back reached Dwight Gayle and he slotted past David De Gea for his first goal of the season.
Suddenly confidence was high among the men in black-and-white and there was almost a second when Jonjo Shelvey’s excellent pass found Murphy, but the young midfielder saw his shot whistle just past the far post.
United needed some inspiration and Pogba provided it. The Frenchman showed quick feet to make space to stand up a cross to the far post where Martial climbed above Yedlin and headed home.
The tide was turning and Mourinho’s men were in front before the break, as Chris Smalling rose highest to head in Ashley Young’s inviting cross.
Yet Newcastle could have levelled with the last action of the half as Murphy jinked his way into a great position inside the area but shot straight at De Gea, while from the rebound Matt Ritchie’s shot hit Gayle and went past the post.
The game was wrapped up within 10 minutes of the restart as the home side launched a deadly counter attack with Newcastle caught with men forward.
Lukaku’s cross was unselfishly headed down by Rashford and Pogba couldn’t miss as he arrived to tap in from barely four yards out.
De Gea made a flying save to prevent Murphy from halving the deficit before Lukaku got the goal he so desperately wanted.
He exchanged passes with Juan Mata, edged the ball past Clark and absolutely lashed his strike past Elliot into the roof of the net.
With the game won, all that was left was for Ibrahimovic to make his comeback as the Swede came on with just under a quarter of an hour remaining.
The Swede almost made a grandstand return, too, as he tried an acrobatic scissor kick, from which Elliot made a smart stop.
But Zlatan’s goals can wait for another time as United begin their winter pursuit of the neighbours.