- Manchester United cruised to victory against Newcastle United in a 4-1 victory at Old Trafford after falling behind early in the game.
- Paul Pogba was instrumental in the heart of the Manchester United midfield upon his return.
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic also made an appearance for the first time this season coming on in the second half.
- READ ALSO: (Video) Manchester United fans react as Paul Pogba scores on his return, sensational performance from the Frenchman
Manchester United comfortably beat Newcastle United 4-1 at Old Trafford with Paul Pogba scoring on his return from injury.
United fell behind to a Dwight Gayle goal on the 14th minute after a slow start. Newcastle made an instant impact at Old Trafford and looked impressive until Anthony Martial cancelled out the opener on the 37th minute.
From there on in the Red Devils began to dominate the proceedings and Chris Smalling gave United the lead just before half-time. Paul Pogba added a third on the 54th minute before Romelu Lukaku ended his goal drought on the 70th minute.
Man of the match
No one will be in disagreement that Pogba’s return was near perfect from the Frenchman. His creativity and energy has certainly been missed. He served up a superb assist for Martial’s goal alongside scoring himself just after half-time.
Nemanja Matic’s performance also greatly improved with Pogba restoring the balance within the United midfield.
Flop of the match
Matt Ritchie was one of the stars of the Newcastle side that gained promotion from the Championship last year but he has struggled to hit any consistent form for Newcastle this season. The winger was kept quiet all game by United’s Antonio Valencia and subsequently was subbed off after just 66 minutes.
Stat of the match
6 – Paul Pogba’s last six Premier League appearances for @ManUtd (four goals, four assists).
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— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 18, 2017
Player ratings
Manchester United: De Gea 6, Valencia 6, Lindelof 5, Smalling 7, Young 7, Pogba 9, Matic 7, Rashford 6, Mata 6, Martial 7, Lukaku 7.
Subs: Fellaini 5, Herrera 6, Ibrahimovic 6.
Newcastle United: Elliot 5, Yedlin 6, Lejeune 4, Clark 5, Manquillo 5, Murphy 6, Hayden 5, Shelvey 6, Ritchie 4, Gayle 6, Joselu 4.
Subs: Aarons 6, Mitrovic 5, Diame 5.
Reaction
United fans were understandably ecstatic to not only see Zlatan and Pogba return but also to see a near perfect performance from Pogba upon his return.
It’s almost as though there’s been one very specific thing missing from Man United’s performances for the last couple of months…
— Ryan Baldi (@RyanBaldiFW) November 18, 2017
– Paul Pogba returns, has a goal and an assist to his name
– Ibra returns
– Lukaku ends goal drought
– Man United back to scoring 4 in a gameGood times back at Old Trafford.
— Olaleye Dada (@olaleyedada) November 18, 2017
Considering they play boring football…Man United sure score plenty of goals and win lots of games…?
— Jake Humphrey (@mrjakehumphrey) November 18, 2017
United slump without creative quality in the middle, the second he’s back it’s another 4 goals. You muppets still doubting Pogba? pic.twitter.com/J2ErrK8aAP
— Stephen Howson ?? (@MrStephenHowson) November 18, 2017