Newcastle’s first goal highlighted 7 problems at Man United that Ten Hag needs to solve

Manchester United were deserved losers in their top-four clash against Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon and some glaring issues came to the forefront.

It might’ve only been a 2-0 scoreline at St James’ Park but the performance was worryingly similar to that of United’s embarrassing defeat at Anfield last month. Erik ten Hag and Luke Shaw both said that they lacked “passion and desire” during the game, however, they were not the only worries.

United registered just one shot on target during the game compared to Newcastle’s six. It was also the largest xG difference (3.57 – 0.43) in a game so far this season for Ten Hag’s side. They were outworked but also outclassed.

If you were to ask any supporter at Old Trafford what their dream summer signing would be, you’d expect 99 out of 100 people to mention a striker. It’s no secret that United are in desperate need of a world-class number nine.

Yet, Harry Kane nor Victor Osimhen would’ve done much to help The Reds in this game. They couldn’t get out of their half for the majority of proceedings, let alone attack the other box.

What United needed – and this is why Ten Hag chased Frenkie de Jong for the entire summer last year – was the ability to build their play from the back. Against a press.

When looking at the first goal conceded on Sunday afternoon, it shows some of United’s main weaknesses both in possession and out of possession.

Firstly, Lisandro Martinez had the ball from the goal kick. Ten Hag’s side have been using this strategy – where one of the centre-backs passes to David de Gea – throughout the season. Essentially, it is supposed to stop the opposition’s press from gambling on a side to press, as the goalkeeper can then pass either way depending on the opposition press.

However, the first mistake in the build-up came from United’s shot-stopper, who has struggled to adapt to the ball-playing style that Ten Hag wants his goalkeeper to develop. His first mistake comes through the initial pass to Raphael Varane. It is slow and played underneath the French defender. This means two things; Varane has to take an extra second to get the ball in front of him so that he can try and play forward, and that he has immediate pressure from Alexander Isak, who was originally pressing De Gea.

United are only two passes into their build-up from a goal kick and they already have an issue. Varane, who does not excel when under pressure, has Isak right behind him. His original marker when looking before the kick had been taken was Allen Saint-Maximin, who had already retreated after De Gea received the ball.

Next, however, is another glaring problem that United face when building against a press. With pressure, Varane looks up and can see… nothing.

Now that Saint-Maximin has dropped off, it means that a pass to Diogo Dalot at right-back is off the cards. In the middle, there is excess space for a midfielder to drop into and receive on the turn but Scott McTominay looks disinterested in helping his mate out in this scenario.

Unfortunately, Varane is not quite Martinez. The Argentine would’ve likely been able to escape this situation with a smart turn or burst into space with the ball. His less comfortable partner attempted to turn back but failed and eventually conceded possession. This all happens within eight seconds and two passes.

That initial sequence was a prime example of United’s struggles against a press when attempting to build from the back. It’s why Ten Hag has occasionally instructed De Gea to play long, such as against Liverpool at Old Trafford earlier in the season.

However, United have not conceded a goal yet. They are defending a throw-in in their own third and have the home crowd riled up but there is no capitulation. Yet.

The following 36 seconds lead to a Newcastle goal. From a throw-in, there are multiple chances for United to escape pressure and potentially counter-attack. Four more problems arise when rewatching the play.

Firstly, Jadon Sancho’s lack of defensive toughness is visible straight away. He lost four duels in 28 minutes on the day. He is not aware of what space to cover as the hosts take their throw-in and is timid in his attempt to tackle; leading to Saint-Maximin driving towards the United box.

United were then able to stop the attempted through ball from the winger. A chance to gain control arose.

In away games in recent years, United have capitulated too often and many of those moments come through a lack of communication. Both Varane and McTominay fail to take control of the ball and after the Scotsman takes a poor touch afterwards, they are dispossessed. Again.

The following seconds were messy, like many times when United concede. The ball was won back again but McTominay’s forward pass failed to stick for Anthony Martial and Newcastle continued to pressurise.

A deflected pass to Isak is controlled well by the forward. And this is where the lack of desire that Ten Hag and Shaw mentioned really comes into play. You can see Jacob Murphy, who played the initial pass, run all the way to the back post from deep unopposed. McTominay watches him but does not track him. Whilst Dalot is dealt a horror hand as he has three men to defend at the back post.

Taking it back on the right side of United’s structure and another issue is present. Three versus one seems like a situation that you can deal with if you’re on top of your game. But United weren’t. Marcus Rashford’s defensive contributions were minimal, Luke Shaw did not check his shoulder and Marcel Sabitzer was not quick enough to sniff out the danger in time.

It all led to this:

There were communication issues. There were quality issues. And there was a lack of desire. It was apparent for most of the game but specifically during the build-up to this goal.

Ten Hag has done so much right at the club in the short amount of time he’s been at Old Trafford. But opposition with the ability to press high continues to cause problems for United. There are solutions to this and most of them involve the transfer market. Even with the quality of Casemiro and Christian Eriksen in midfield, United are still lacking the profile that Ten Hag needs in the middle. Meanwhile, his goalkeeper continues to show that despite the saves, he does not suit the football that this club should be striving to play.

And there are still worrying signs away from home in important fixtures. The visit to Camp Nou was impressive but even then United were unable to hold onto their lead after a positive performance. And how did Barcelona score their late equaliser again? From United attempting to build from deep.