MANCHESTER: An epic comeback crowned by a last-minute goal by substitute Alexis Sanchez gave Manchester United a 3-2 victory against Newcastle, taking some pressure off Manchester coach Jose Mourinho, who has been under scrutiny after four games without a win prior to this match.
Three players who had usually been ignored by Mourinho – Juan Mata, Anthony Martial and Alexis Sanchez – gave Manchester the three crucial goals they needed to come back in the last 20 minutes of the match from a 0-2 disadvantage, reports Efe news.
That disadvantage was created early on, after Newcastle’s Robert Kenedy and Yoshinori Muto scored in the 7th and 10th minutes on Saturday night. After receiving a perfectly placed pass from behind by Ayoze Perez, Kenedy scored with a left-footed shot from mid-distance, driving the ball neatly into the bottom-left corner.
Muto’s goal was also largely the result of a great assist, as Jonjo Shelvey made a quick pass from the right to the middle of the box, where the Japanese striker was perfectly placed to hammer the effort home.
Mourinho did not waste much time changing his strategy, replacing Eric Bailly with midfielder Juan Mata in the 19th minute, and sending in midfielder Marouane Fellaini to replace Scott McTominay just after the interval. As the changes did not seem to be paying off, Mourinho made another change in the 68th minute, replacing Marcus Rashford with Chilean striker Alexis Sanchez.
That is when the turnaround began.
Just two minutes later, after Newcastle’s Mohamed Diame received a yellow card for a foul on Martial, Mata scored from the free-kick, just outside the penalty area, curving the ball neatly into the top-right corner.
It was then Martial’s turn, in the 76th minute, to tie the match, scoring from mid-distance after receiving a brilliant backheel pass from Paul Pogba. (IANS)
