The roars from the loudest fans to visit Old Trafford this season were justified. Fifteen minutes into the Premier League encounter, Newcastle United were taking the game to Manchester United and looked a bigger threat.
Steve Bruce’s rejuvenated side, who’d won five of their previous eight games and who’d triumphed in the reverse fixture at St James’ Park, found themselves up against feeble rather than vengeful looking opponents.
Matty Longstaff, who scored that day, did the same 17 minutes into the match after Fred lost the ball in midfield and shambolic defending helped him along the way.
“He’s one of our own,” chanted the 3,000 Geordies of the goalscorer. “Sacked in the morning,” they added for Solskjaer.
Not so fast, since Newcastle would repay the errors in spades, just as they did last season. Then, with Jose Mourinho’s job under pressure, they had quickly gone ahead at Old Trafford in the equivalent game, before losing 3-2.
These things happen at modern day Manchester United, when fans have little idea what’s to come. Where they can beat the champions away and lose to the bottom team weeks later. It has been an inconsistent roller coaster season and it continued as they recovered from the Longstaff goal to score four times for the first time in the league since the opening day against Chelsea.
At the other end, Manchester United haven’t kept a clean sheet in 14 league games since a September win against Leicester City, but they’re also unbeaten at home since August. They also haven’t been beaten at home on Boxing Day since 1978 and responded well to the setback.
It was much needed after Sunday’s dreadful defeat at Watford – but the result was soured by an injury to key midfielder Scott McTominay, who left Old Trafford on crutches.
“I don’t know how bad it is,” said Solskjaer after confirming ligament damage. “He played until half-time and I’m not sure if he will be fit for Saturday. The boy has got the biggest heart of the lot. You know when you stiffen up. We'll find out tomorrow how it is.” McTominaywas booked after only 24 seconds
United play at Burnley on Saturday, but at least Paul Pogba is back. Solskjaer was hoping to introduce him little by little as he comes back from injury. He may have little choice but to start his most talented midfielder. The Norwegian already feels that there’s not enough competition for places but those players on the pitch responded well after going behind.
Antony Martial’s shot made it 1-1 after 23 minutes, squeezing the ball between Martin Dubravka and his near post. Twelve minutes later, Schar failed to clear his lines. Mason Greenwood picked the ball up with Marcus Rashford in space to his left. The 18-year-old calmly lashed the ball goalwards from 20 yards and, after a slight deflection off Fernandez, it hit the roof of the net. He’s scored four in five in all competitions – though his coaches don’t think he’s ready to be playing every week yet.
"We know Mason is such a talent,” said his manager. “He is good with both feet, which makes it harder for defenders, he has the technique and he is an exceptional finisher. He is still young and has to learn the game.”
The home side made it 3-1 five minutes before half time, with Marcus Rashford rising superbly to head home a fine, deep cross from Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Rashford has now scored 15 goals this season.
It was four after 50 minutes when Antony Martial flicked the ball over Dubravka. Two goals from just three shots. Martial hit the post, too, and he pressed well throughout. Manchester United are far better with an in-form Martial.
“The key is to give him the ball because he is not going to be running down the channels all day long,” said Solskjaer of Martial. “We need to feed him - the balls have said that themselves. We have to play it forward more and into the front men - it is important for Anthony to touch the ball a lot and to feel like his in the game.”
“We’ve had a horrible 20 minutes before half-time, and just after half-time as well, when we’ve made too many mistakes, and one thing about individual error, you can’t account for it,” said Steve Bruce, who has drawn one and lost ten games on visits to his former club. “You come here, the one thing you can’t do is gift Manchester United and unfortunately, I know it’s Christmas, but we’ve given away more goals in half an hour than we have done in three months.”
Solskjaer’s mood, unsurprisingly, contrasted.
“We’ve done well today,” he beamed. “At 1-0 down obviously you’re not sure, but then all season we’ve had one defeat and we haven’t lost the next one, so the reaction was really good. Today was 10-15 minutes of everything going right. Of course we made mistakes. Today was a good day for us. We made it comfortable. Second half I think both teams were looking at the game in two days’ time.
“I think we’re moulding the group together. We’re finding our identity. We need to know our identity. We can’t wait until next season. We’re not going to win the league this year, but we need to think about winning trophies this year. Burnley will be a different kind of game, you need to roll your sleeves up and take the fight to them.”
United are seventh and, because of the inconsistency of the teams around them, still in contention for a top four finish. It’s a repeat of last season when fourth place and Champions League football was within the grasp of several teams until the end. United were incapable of being consistent enough to make the top four. That consistency is still lacking, but the fans were happy as they left for home in the dreary Mancunian drizzle.
Company%20profile
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How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
MATCH INFO
Everton 2 Southampton 1
Everton: Walcott (15'), Richarlison (31' )
Southampton: Ings (54')
Man of the match: Theo Walcott (Everton)
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Opening Rugby Championship fixtures: Games can be watched on OSN Sports
Saturday: Australia v New Zealand, Sydney, 1pm (UAE)
Sunday: South Africa v Argentina, Port Elizabeth, 11pm (UAE)
MO
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The Facility’s Versatility
Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
Never before has a ground in this country – or perhaps anywhere in the world – had such a volume of major-match cricket.
And yet scoring has remained high, and Abu Dhabi has seen some classic encounters in every format of the game.
October 18, IPL, Kolkata Knight Riders tied with Sunrisers Hyderabad
The two playoff-chasing sides put on 163 apiece, before Kolkata went on to win the Super Over
January 8, ODI, UAE beat Ireland by six wickets
A century by CP Rizwan underpinned one of UAE’s greatest ever wins, as they chased 270 to win with an over to spare
February 6, T10, Northern Warriors beat Delhi Bulls by eight wickets
The final of the T10 was chiefly memorable for a ferocious over of fast bowling from Fidel Edwards to Nicholas Pooran
March 14, Test, Afghanistan beat Zimbabwe by six wickets
Eleven wickets for Rashid Khan, 1,305 runs scored in five days, and a last session finish
June 17, PSL, Islamabad United beat Peshawar Zalmi by 15 runs
Usman Khawaja scored a hundred as Islamabad posted the highest score ever by a Pakistan team in T20 cricket
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
