Newcastle close on top four and expose Amorim's daunting task

Manchester United are dipping towards the drop zone under Ruben Amorim, a head coach who took over on 11 November and forgot to pack the "bounce" often gifted to an employer after sacking the last guy.

- Jamie Jackson

This is United's fourth consecutive loss and, after 11 games, the Portuguese coach's record reads six defeats and four wins.

Peer at the table and Amorim's side are 14th on 22 points after taking the same number, 11, in nine league matches as they did under Erik ten Hag, his predecessor.

Yet again the 3-4-3 formation failed and to see Joshua Zirkzee yanked off after the half hour was to witness an encapsulation of United's disarray.

Another was the reinstatement of Marcus Rashford to the squad after the forward said he wanted a "new challenge". Make sense of the head coach's thinking on that one, if you can.

Three minutes and 30 seconds were all it took for Amorim to dip his head in despair. Fluid from Newcastle, it was amateurish by United who, despite having their three centre-backs Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez lined up, still allowed Alexander Isak to rise, unmarked, plum before Andre Onana's goal and head in.

Maguire and Martinez were the prime culprits as the in-form Swede split them to score an eighth goal in his last seven outings. Already, Amorim's men looked like a pub XI who had staggered on to the local park midway through a particularly enjoyable festive season.