• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Manchester Football

A website about football in Manchester

United’s title bid blown off course

January 4, 2012 by Tony Bugby

NEWCASTLE 3, MAN UTD 0.

Manchester United’s Barclays Premier League title was blown off course on a blustery night in the North East as Newcastle inflicted a 3-0 loss.

It was the first time in three seasons in which the Reds had suffered back-to-back league defeats which must be a worry to Sir Alex Ferguson.

It is not simply the defeats, but the manner of the losses against relegation-threatened Blackburn Rovers and out-of-form Newcastle in which the defensive fragility of the side surfaced once more.

Ferguson conceded the defeat was a major setback in their title bid adding this is no time to panic.

He said: “Yes, City have the advantage. They played last night and won while we played tonight and lost so it is advantage to them.

“We will soon have two or three players back and that will make a big difference. This is no time to panic and we have the experience to cope with it.”

Ferguson recalled Wayne Rooney after he had been left out against Blackburn for a breach of club discipline but, perhaps more significantly, Anders Lindegaard was preferred in goal to the under-fire David de Gea.

They were still badly depleted, however, as the squad has been ravaged by injury and illness which undoubtedly had a bearing on events on the pitch.

It was another poor performance from United whose defence was tormented by Demba Ba and Shola Ameobi while in midfield they were second best to Cheick Tiote and Yohan Cabaye.

Ferguson reflected on what might have been had Dimitar Berbatov not struck the upright and another chance which fell to Rooney when the game was scoreless.

Ba broke the deadlock in the 33rd minute as the Senegalese striker scored his 15th league goal of the season for Newcastle, a remarkable return for the free-transfer summer signing from West Ham.

It was a great parting shot from Ba as he headed to the African Cup of Nations. How he will be missed.

United were unable to cope with the route-one approach as a long kick from keeper Tim Krul found Ba who hooked a delightful shot beyond Lindegaard.

Newcastle doubled their advantage two minutes after the restart through a wonderfully-struck free kick from Cabaye which eluded Lindegaard’s despairing dive to his left.

And Newcastle’s third in stoppage time just about typified their misery at the moment when United failed to cope with another long punt forward by keeper Krul.

This time the hapless Phil Jones, attempting to make a clearance, only succeeded in diverting the ball past Lindegaard.

It might have been even worse as earlier Rio Ferdinand was fortunate not to concede a penalty after bringing down Ba with an ill-timed challenge as United lost at Newcastle for the first time in a decade.

Filed Under: Manchester United, North West, Premier League Tagged With: De Gea, Ferguson, Rooney

Primary Sidebar

Categories

  • Altrincham
  • Ashton United
  • Curzon Ashton
  • Europe
  • FA Cup
  • Hyde United
  • International
  • League Cup
  • Manchester City
  • Manchester City Women
  • Manchester United
  • Manchester United Women
  • Match Report
  • Melbourne City FC
  • Mossley
  • New York City FC
  • Non League
  • North West
  • Oldham Athletic
  • Player Ratings
  • Premier League
  • Salford City
  • Stalybridge Celtic
  • Stockport County
  • Stretford Paddock
  • UEFA Champions League
  • Uncategorized
  • Wigan Athletic

Manchester Football

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Search Manchester Football

RSS Youtube Videos

  • I’m not concerned about the Europa League final, we need to change something that is deeper...
  • His individual performance has been a strong point in a disappointing season - Graham Potter
  • We are going to connect with our fans around the world and make some money - Ruben Amorim

Popular Tags

Anthony Martial Arsenal Aston Villa Bernardo Silva Bruno Fernandes Chelsea contract Crystal Palace David Moyes David Silva England Erik ten Hag Erling Haaland Everton Gabriel Jesus Gareth Taylor Harry Kane Huddersfield Town Ilkay Gundogan John Sheridan Jose Mourinho Juan Mata Kevin De Bruyne Leicester City Liverpool Louis van Gaal Manuel Pellegrini Marcus Rashford Newcastle United Ole Gunnar Solskjaer Paul Pogba Pep Guardiola Phil Foden Player Ratings Raheem Sterling Riyad Mahrez Robin van Persie Sergio Aguero Southampton Tottenham Txiki Begiristain Vincent Kompany Wayne Rooney West Ham Yaya Toure

RSS Manchesterfootball Videos

  • I’m not concerned about the Europa League final, we need to change something that is deeper... May 11, 2025
    manchester football - Manchester City and United
  • His individual performance has been a strong point in a disappointing season - Graham Potter May 11, 2025
    manchester football - Manchester City and United
  • We are going to connect with our fans around the world and make some money - Ruben Amorim May 9, 2025
    manchester football - Manchester City and United
  • Both teams are going to play All or Nothing! The positions of the coaches are quite similar - Ruben May 9, 2025
    manchester football - Manchester City and United
  • Athletic Club manager Ernesto Valverde press conference at Manchester United (English, Spanish) May 8, 2025
    manchester football - Manchester City and United

Copyright © 2025 · Manchesterfootball · Log in