0-1(PK Rooney 9'), 0-2 (Lingaard 38'), 1-2 (Wijnaldum 42'), 2-2 (PK Mitrovic 67'), 2-3 (Rooney 79'), 3-3 (Dummett 90')
St. James' Park was treated to a six-goal thriller on Tuesday night; Newcastle United and Manchester United both bagging three goals each to go home with a point apiece as the Premier League resumed.
Despite bright starts from Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko and Aleksandar Mitrovic, it was Manchester United who would find the opener in the form of a controversial handball. Wayne Rooney slotted his penalty past Robert Elliot after Chancel Mbemba inadvertently handled the ball following a Manchester corner.
The Red Devils went on to control much of the first half and would double their advantage through Jesse Lingard. Ander Herrera presented the ball in space for Rooney, who held up play until he found Lingard overlapping. Facing Elliot in a tight angle, Lingard tucked the chance into the far right corner with composure.
Newcastle responded to the second goal of the night with a goal of their own, scored by Georgino Wijnaldum. A wonderful ball by captain Fabricio Coloccini found Mitrovic who headed the ball down for Wijnaldum to finish into the bottom right corner.
The Mags would go level in the second half with a penalty of their own too, Chris Smalling wrestling Mitrovic to ground inside the box. Stepping up to the penalty spot, Mitrovic put his penalty away into the right side of the net, sending St. James’ Park into a frenzy as the Geordies began to get behind their team.
Rooney would once again make his presence known as his howling strike from outside the box gave Manchester United the lead again, but late in the match, Newcastle found themselves level once more, this time through Paul Dummett. The visitors had been doing well to hold off the threat of the home attack, that was until Dummett came sprinting forward to hit Smalling’s soft clearance off of the United defender and into the back of the net.
The result reflected the performance, however, both teams had come into this game hoping for so much more and will be disappointed they didn't get that.
Bright start falls short for Newcastle
The first half was an end to end affair as both teams struggled to string together meaningful possession.
Having introduced Jonjo Shelvey to the fans before kickoff, Newcastle United started the match with much energy. However, the team struggled to get back into the game after Mbemba conceded a controversial handball, Rooney slotting home from the spot for the visitors. David De Gea came up big for the Red Devils too, with an incredible one-on-one save against star-player Wijnaldum, keeping the score at 1-0.
Things would get worse for the Magpies when Manchester United doubled their lead thanks to Rooney and Lingard. Rooney received the ball in the attacking third and held up play for Lingard, who slotted his chance home into the far right corner.
Newcastle would punch back four minutes later as Mitrovic teed up Wijnaldum to halve the deficit, with the first half ending 2-1 to the visitors, albeit it could have been three after a good chance for Manchester United’s Anthony Martial.
Second half provides thrilling conclusion
The second half was more of the same as both sides took the game to the other. The pressure was continuing to mount on Manchester United, and they finally crumbled when Smalling conceded a penalty against Mitrovic, tacking him to the ground at a corner. St. James’ Park made their voice heard as Mitrovic stepped up and Newcastle finally climbed level in the match.
The game remained wide open after the equaliser, with Newcastle playing at a high tempo on the attack thanks to Moussa Sissoko and Wijnaldum. However, Manchester United’s defence held strong as they continued to slow the game down. The Red Devils would find a breakthrough for the third time of the night too as Rooney smashed his second of the night into the top left corner from outside the box.
Newcastle ensured they got at least one point from the match though, with Dummett striking late on as he latched onto a loose ball at the top of the box, the shot taking an unfortunate deflection off of Smalling and flying into the net. The score was level and rightfully so as Newcastle finished the second half on the front foot.
However, the game would finish 3-3, with both teams cursing their missed chances.
