Unique. That's certainly one way to describe the atmosphere at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon - the feel good factor around the Theatre of Dreams was something quite special. One man was the reason: Cristiano Ronaldo. Even an hour before kick off, the announcement of the returning number seven as a starter was met with a deafening roar. The energy around the stadium was electric for the entire afternoon, with resounding roars of 'Viva Ronaldo' a constant.
Spurred on by the packed home support, United leaped out of the blocks with poise. Several balls were played and runs were made in behind, with a good intensity from the first kick of the ball. There were some early glimpses of Ronaldo's excellence, with instant belief to take on the opposing defence and unleash goalbound (featuring a trademark abundance of stepovers here and there). It was blatant that his return - whether that be his presence on the pitch or the profound influence on the crowd - was rubbing off and massively enhancing the sharpness of his teammates.
The greatest joy for United during the early phase of pressure arguably came from Rapahel Varane after a few half chances for Ronaldo, with the Frenchman's header from a corner glanced marginally wide of the far post. In subsequence, however, Newcastle begun to exert pressure themselves in spells. Despite some decent threat against them, United were able to control the opposing bursts sufficiently to ensure they weren't made to pay for looser phases.
With Newcastle unable to take advantage of their sporadic opportunities, United maintained lots more possession as the half commenced. The visiting side became stretched, but there was a struggle to engineer anything amidst some hesitancy in the final third. Eventually - with moments remaining in the opening period - the aforementioned fact was abolished by Mason Greenwood. The inform youngster's effort from outside the box was parried by Newcastle's deputy's deputy Freddie Woodman, with "that boy Ronaldo" proving his elite strikers' instincts to follow up the loose ball and opportunistically slot into the empty net. The return couldn't have started much better!
Even though the opener game right on the brink of halftime, United failed to establish stonewall momentum heading into the second half. Something was still lacking and not entirely clicking in the final third, with the reds ultimately made to pay for their frequently poor use of possession. Not long into the half, they were caught out on the break by the lively Miguel Almiron following a slightly misjudged Harry Maguire lunge. The Paraguayan drove at speed as United became overloaded and defensively disjointed, with Allan Saint-Maximan eventually poking through to Javier Manquillo who beat countryman David de Gea for his maiden Newcastle goal.
In response, United instantaneously upped the ante and stepped up their game. An equaliser came in due course, with the move engineered exquisitely having started from Varane at the back. The midfield trio subsequently manoeuvred the ball intricately through the middle, unleashing Luke Shaw to carry into space. The left back weighted his pass impeccably into the path of Ronaldo, who used a frightening short burst of pace to break free and fire left-footed through the legs of Woodman. Re-endearing himself with the Stretford End faithful by securing a brace in front of them was a dream scenario.
Consequent of the flurry of a goal a piece since the pause, the game opened up to a great extent. With the Old Trafford energy at its pinnacle, United excelled further and accentuated their dominance. As the latter stages approached, Bruno Fernandes all but secured the maximum haul of points and ushered a reminder that he's still very much here and firing. A really well-worked move was capped off by a quite splendid finish, with Fernandes securing a Portuguese hat-trick for the day. The phase begun with a pinpoint long kick from De Gea into Greenwood's path, with the latter teasing and troubling Newcastle before offloading to Paul Pogba around the edge of the box. Fernandes was then teed up by Pogba, taking two subtle touches before finding the top corner with precision and power from some range. Delirium again!
That wasn't it, either. The free-flowing, classy spell of football was prolonged to the death. Following some remarkable buildup play, Jesse Lingard found himself scoring for United for the first time since the closing match of the 2019/20 campaign. Pogba and substitute Donny van de Beek skillfully combined initally, with the former slotting the ball into the path of other substitute and compatriot Anthony Martial. The ball was dummied with perfection by Martial, with Lingard receiving possession and turning before guiding the ball out of Woodman's reach. He's having quite some recovery year, adding to his brace for England in midweek.
Two home games down, nine goals scored and two wins - a drastic improvement to some faulty form at Old Trafford throughout last season. Four games in and, regardless of what it means, United top the Premier League. We're seriously here for a fight this season.
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