Rúben Amorim is watching a new leader emerge at Manchester United despite their 4-1 loss against Newcastle in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
Rúben Amorim chose to hand Premier League starts to Altay Bayındır and Harry Amass as Manchester United lined up to face Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon at Tyneside.
The tie started with United looking bright, but it was Newcastle who struck first through Sandro Tonali, who, with a fantastic lofted assist from Alexander Isak, handed the home side a lead after 25 minutes.
Newcastle continued to dominate possession, but against the run of play, it was United who struck next, with Alejandro Garnacho finishing off a counter-attack to level the score after 37 minutes before holding out to take a draw into the half-time break.
Unfortunately for Amorim, Newcastle reestablished their lead after mere minutes of the second half getting underway as Harvey Barnes slotted in a second after a good cut-back from Jacob Murphy before adding a third after a fatal slip from Noussair Mazraoui.
Bruno Guimarães then added a fourth with a little over ten minutes left to play following a loose pass from Bayındır, with Amorim’s men efforts to fight back in vein as they fell to a 4-1 defeat on Sunday afternoon.
#1 – Yoro emerging as a leader at United
In the last few weeks, Yoro has started to emerge as a leader under Amorim, with the 19-year-old looking like a player well above his years.
In the first half, there was a particularly moment where Amass was being hounded by Fabian Schär during a corner, to which Yoro took offence and made his presence known, pushing the defender to the ground as a warning tog et off Amass’ back.
Despite the side conceding four, Yoro’s individual game against Newcastle showed a player who is starting to become comfortable at the club despite only making his debut in December and could become a key leader for Amorim in the seasons to come.
#2 – Amass solid on his debut
With United keeping one eye on the upcoming Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon on Thursday, Amass was brought in to rest Partrick Dorgu, and he did a good job to cover for the Danish international.
While the 18-year-old did not have any particularly standout moments at St. James’ Park, he put up a fairly comfortable performance during his first start for the club, mostly matching Newcastle’s physical presence.
He came off early in the second half with Amorim looking to get his side back in the game, but he can be proud of his 55 minutes starting in Red for the first time.
#3 – Bayındır’s mixed case to start vs Lyon
With Bayındır starting in goal following André Onana’s error-strung displays across 2025 so far, his performance against Newcastle did not do much to state his case to start against Lyon.
Tonali’s opening effort aside, Bayındır looked comfortable and confident in goal in the first half, making multiple good saves to deny Alexander Isak and others and keep United in the game before Garnacho’s equalising effort.
However, in the second half, although he could not do too much for Barnes’ two strikes, he was certainly at fault for Guimarães’ effort as he passed the ball straight into Joelinton just seconds before the goal. His chances of starting against Lyon on Thursday feel slim.
#4 – Zirkzee’s injury is a huge blow
Zirkzee’s injury in the second half is a major blow for United, as they will now be without their first-choice striker on Thursday evening.
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After Rasmus Højlund produced a pretty shocking display in the first leg prior to Zirkzee’s goal in France last week, it was nailed on that the Dutchman would start at Old Trafford next week.
However, in what is a major blow for Amorim, Zirkzee will almost certainly not feature in the crunch clash, while a hamstring injury could rule the 23-year-old out for the rest of the season.
#5 – United completely overpowered ahead of Lyon
With the Lyon fixture the most important in United’s season yet, the second half against Newacstle was not a good omen after the home team completely overpowered Amorim’s men in the second half.
United must be credited with fighting back after going a goal down in the first half, but in the second half, it felt as if the game was men against boys.
Granted, United were missing a few key players from the starting team with Harry Maguire, Dorgu and Casemiro not in the starting XI, but if they want to progress to the Europa League semi-finals, the players must kick up a gear on Thursday.
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