Newcastle United end 2024 in fifth place after they secured a terrific 2-0 win away against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Monday night.
The Magpies scored twice inside the opening 20 minutes of the match to land all three points, thanks to goals from Alexander Isak and Joelinton.
This means that Eddie Howe’s side end the year with five straight wins in all competitions and four straight wins without conceding a goal in the Premier League.
Two of the key players from the last victory of 2024 were Isak and Bruno Guimaraes, who showcased their qualities throughout the impressive victory.
Guimaraes and Isak's performances against Manchester United
The Newcastle pair heavily contributed to the result with their energetic displays, leading the press from the front and from midfield to put pressure on Manchester United in the early stages of the match.
Between them, Isak and Guimaraes combined for 30 duels contested in the 90 minutes, which shows that they were constantly competing and not giving the opposition players time on the ball.
Minutes
90
90
Key passes
2
1
Pass accuracy
81%
85%
Duels won
6/14
7/16
Possession lost
13x
19x
As you can see in the table above, their success rate in those duels was not particularly impressive but they were largely reliable with their attempted passes.
Isak, of course, also scored the opening goal in the match with his header from close-range after Lewis Hall’s cross deflected into his path early on.
Whilst Guimaraes and Isak were key players for the Magpies on the night, the real hero for Howe was central defender Dan Burn, who produced a monstrous display.
Dan Burn's performance against Manchester United
The English titan was even better than his two teammates at Old Trafford as he was the rock at the heart of the defence for Howe, helping his side to keep the clean sheet.
Whilst the goals from Isak and Joelinton ultimately secured all three points, all of Newcastle’s great work on the ball was built off the back of the solid platform that Burn, and the rest of the team, provided.
The left-footed monster, who was handed a match rating of 8/10 by the Shields Gazette, was almost faultless in the match, with both his work on and off the ball.
In possession, Burn did not resort to punting the ball long to clear the danger and attempted to play out from the back where possible, completing 35 of his 38 passes (92%) and only giving possession away three times in 90 minutes.
The former Brighton titan was also close to faultless defensively. He won 11 of his 14 duels and made six tackles and interceptions combined, to go along with six clearances, which illustrates how dominant the Englishman was on the night.
These statistics show that Burn was the real hero of the night over Isak and Guimaraes as he was able to combine quality on and off the ball, with his almost-perfect defending also preventing a nervy finish to the game.
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