FIRST HALF – EVEN STEVENS
There was always going to be a fast start from the revved-up Magpies a.nd they had the ball in the net very early on, but Kieran Trippier knew he was offside when crossing for Joelinton to beat Bayindir. The pressure continued, with Jacob Murphy flashing a drive wide when a stray pass by Zirkzee gifted possession to the hosts.
Yet United managed to enjoy a good spell ourselves, with Murphy surviving a handball appeal inside the box, as Zirkzee hooked the ball towards him, and the Dutchman was then on the end of a quite fabulous move. It would have been a contender for Goal of the Season had ZIrkzee managed to finish either side of Nick Pope but the big keeper was able to tip the effort over after quick interplay between Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes and the striker left the Newcastle defence bewildered.
Pope clutched Fernandes’s ball in at his near post, following the corner, but the momentum then swung very much the Tynesiders’ way. Alexander Isak headed wide, when looking suspiciously offside, and then set up the opening goal. After hounding the Reds off the ball, with Manuel Ugarte’s loose pass being seized upon, the home side worked the ball through to Isak, whose assist over the top was buried on the volley by Tonali, in the 24th minute.
It was one-way traffic then, with Tonali striving for his second when drilling wide, Bayindir pulling off a miraculous stop to thwart Isak after parrying a Tino Livramento cross to the Sweden striker and Isak knocking the ball past Bayindir and going close to corkscrewing his effort in from a near-impossible angle. Dan Burn then planted a header onto the top of the net as it seemed only a matter of time before Newcastle doubled their lead.
Instead, another slick raid by United conjured up the equaliser. Ugarte won the ball well in midfield and invited Diogo Dalot to charge forward. The right wing-back timed the release of his pass to Garnacho to perfection, and the Argentina international stroked past Pope and into the far corner of the net for a well-worked goal.
Garnacho forced Pope to prevent us going in ahead at the break, when the keeper pushed the shot away awkwardly, when a break was sparked by some quick feet by young defender Amass.
