OPINION

It’s rare that there is as much drama on the pitch for Newcastle United as there is off it but that was exactly the case when they faced Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday evening.

The Magpies stormed into a 2-0 lead against Jose Mourinho’s side after a near-perfect first-half performance before their opponents rallied and took all three points for themselves after they upped their game in the second-half.

Man United emerged 3-2 winners from Saturday’s game and the match had everything from great goals, to dodgy decisions and even saw players submit performances that didn’t correspond with their current form.

Rafa Benitez would have learn several things about his side and Nothing But Newcastle have picked out three things we learned about Newcastle from their dramatic defeat to Man Utd below:

Kenedy is back

Kenedy has been a disappointment at the Magpies, to say the least, since re-joining the club for another loan spell from Chelsea this summer. However the left-sided flyer who weaved his way into Magpies supporters’ hearts last season, was the one who turned up at Old Trafford on Saturday.  The 22-year-old Brazilian was a fantastic attacking threat for his side every time he charged at Man United’s goal. It no surprise that Kenedy got on the scoresheet due to this as the winger looked back to his best and long may it continue. The only worry regarding the winger coming out of the Magpies’ latest outing is that he did limp off the pitch in the 68th minute, so he may face some time out. Though luckily the Magpies do have a break before their next game as some of their players go on international duty.

Muto is what has been missing

Yoshinori Muto should take a bow after his performance at Old Trafford. Benitez handed the 26-year-old forward a mammoth task when opting to hand him his first start in the Premier League away from home against one of the perceived bigger teams in Premier League. While Man United weren’t going into Saturday’s clash in the best of form, it was still a lot to ask of Muto. However the attacker not only scored and looked too much to handle in the first-half, he also looked willing to give his all for his side. Muto constantly ran and covered as much ground as possible to give his side the best chance of a result. Based on the Magpies’ lacklustre outings this season, it seems the 26-year-old is exactly what Benitez’s side have been missing.

Atsu is a waste of a shirt

Christian Atsu may have only entered the game at the 78th minute mark but it is clear he was a waste of a shirt of Saturday. The winger, who earns £30,000-a-week (Source: Spotrac), showed no fight or desire to make things happen and that is the very least he could have done. While Atsu isn’t the most gifted winger in the squad and seems to have not improved in recent times, the least he could have done is look like he was attempting to make an impact. However Atsu just didn’t look at the race against Man United nor did he look up for battle, so he was just a waste of shirt based on his cameo appearance. The winger previously showed glimpses of his potential in the recent defeat to Leicester City but aside from that it has been an abysmal start to the campaign for him.