Manchester United’s stuttering form continued on Saturday night with Newcastle United beating Erik ten Hag’s men by a goal to nil.
In truth, the scoreline flattered United with the home side in full control throughout the game and unfortunate not to put the visitor to the sword.
United looked shattered on the night and completely devoid of any passion and desire, particularly at the top end of the pitch.
Anthony Martial was given the nod ahead of mega-money summer signing Rasmus Hojlund yet did very little to justify his selection.
The Frenchman was virtually non-existent throughout his 60 minute cameo, looking as though he wanted to be anywhere else but on the field.
Erik ten Hag was seen fuming at his forward for an incident toward the end of the first half which saw a Newcastle defender stroll away from the feeble attempt of pressure from Martial.
Anthony Martial is yet to complete a full 90 minutes this season…
Erik Ten Hag stormed onto the touchline to berate Martial during the first-half 👀 pic.twitter.com/yp0t4pLX2w
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 2, 2023
The move almost resulted in a goal for the hosts and Ten Hag couldn’t hide his anger.
Martial didn’t take the verbal volley lying down and can be seen shouting back at his manager whilst gesticulating in frustration toward the United bench.
The 27-year-old is yet to complete 90 minutes for United this season and given his first half performance it was a surprise to see him reappear for the second period.
He was eventually hooked after Anthony Gordon’s opener but the damage was done and United couldn’t find a route back into the game.
In fairness to Martial, he was one of many players who looked completely uninterested last night, but given his career at Old Trafford is on the line, the lack of effort was alarming.
Ten Hag will need a big response from his players for the visit of Chelsea on Wednesday night with the big games coming thick and fast for United.