Gary Lineker: Good evening and welcome to Match of the Day for our thoughts on the 2014/15 Premier League season! It seems the race will be as tight as ever this time around and as we all know it is those direct 6-pointer clashes that play a decisive part in deciding who will fly and who will fall. For this reason we will be focusing solely on those giant games in Match of the Day. Stay with us as Alan Hansen and Alan Shearer aid me on analyzing the key aspects of what happened and why it happened for you!
Gary Lineker: Both teams entered this Saturday early kick-off game fully aware a victory would put the winner on top of the league table before the other games of the round were played. It was always going to be a clash of styles but Old Trafford faithful were disappointed with the cautious approach David Moyes adopted for a home game against a team that was so convincingly beaten in the Community Shield curtain raiser just a few months ago. On the contrary, the Magpies were determined to leave the humiliating defeat behind their backs and played open, free-flowing football which saw them produce numerous chances. As the Red Devils appeared unable to cope it was only a matter of time before the goals came and the home crowd went silent midway in the first half when the visitors dealt a crushing quick double strike with Davide Santon and Loic Remy goals. Newcastle continued to dominate in the second half and it even though Man United had a late Nani goal disallowed they probably got away with the least damage possible. Final score - 0:2.
Alan Hansen: I think Newcastle countered David Moyes' possession based patient football very well by negating their midfield which was proven by all three home substitutions. Man United had a lion's share of accurate passes and dominated the air but Newcastle had the upper hand in the tackling department and that extreme aggression won them the game.
Alan Shearer: I would say the hosts still created a lot of decent chances and Robin van Persie was way below his usual level to squander most of them. Other than that I can't say any other of the home players underperformed, they were simply tactically outclassed. I'll mention Davide Santon from the visitors as he excelled on top of scoring the opening goal, but the ones who truly stole the show were the central defenders - Varane and Yanga-Mbiwa were tremendous and the latter picked up the PoM award.
Gary Lineker: I'll admit I expected Manchester United to win this and pile further misery on the champions but watching the game it was never going to happen! This is yet another twist in the title race as both teams remain close to the top.
