By Olaitan Ibrahim
Manchester United suffered a night to forget at St. James’ Park as they were thrashed 4–1 by a relentless Newcastle United side, sparking fresh scrutiny over decision to drop first-choice goalkeeper André Onana.
The Red Devils were on the back foot from the start, and although Joelinton had an early effort ruled out for offside in the second minute, Newcastle’s intent was clear.
Their breakthrough came in the 24th minute when Alexander Isak floated a precise ball into the box and Sandro Tonali smashed home a low finish, leaving debutant Altay Bayındır with no chance.
United responded through Alejandro Garnacho in the 37th minute, latching onto a brilliant through-ball from Diogo Dalot and rifling a shot into the bottom corner to level the tie at 1–1.
However, the Magpies came out for the second half with renewed purpose and ruthlessly dismantled the visitors.
Harvey Barnes struck twice in quick succession — first with a composed finish from a clever pass in the 49th minute, then with a sensational solo goal in the 64th that left Bayındır rooted.
Bruno Guimarães capped off the demolition in the 77th minute, slotting home from the edge of the box after a sweeping team move to make it 4–1.
The defeat is Manchester United’s heaviest in weeks and raises fresh concerns about squad cohesion, tactical decisions, and their faltering form in both domestic and European competitions.
With Onana absent from the squad and Bayındır’s debut marred by four goals conceded, the goalkeeping situation is now firmly under the spotlight.