Newcastle United do not have many reasons to celebrate after their loss to Manchester United, but Don Hutchison was at least impressed with one Toon player.
However, he has not praised a Newcastle United player for their actions on the pitch. Instead, it is for what they did after the full time whistle.
Eddie Howe’s side were beaten 3-2 by Manchester United, failing to deliver at Old Trafford and making the Red Devils actually look like a decent team. That is a challenge in itself given how poor they have been as of late, but Newcastle found a way.
The Magpies conceded three sloppy goals on Wednesday night. Kieran Trippier was at fault for the opener, the second came from poorly defending a corner and the third was weak goalkeeping by Martin Dubravka.
Newcastle United denied blatant penalty by VAR
It was an immensely frustrating evening for Toon fans, who also saw their side be denied a blatant penalty by VAR.
Anthony Gordon had been played in on goal, but was bundled over in the box by the double team of Casemiro and Sofyan Amrabat. And while the former did win the ball, the latter did not.
The Morocco international clearly caught Gordon on the Achilles, which resulted in him going down before Casemiro even won the ball. It was not given by the referee, but looked certain to be overturned by VAR. It was the type of penalty that VAR was brought in to award, yet play was waved on.
Anthony Gordon reacts to penalty snub vs Man United
It was an appalling decision that has angered Bruno Guimaraes, and one that infuriated Gordon.
He spoke very honestly about the incident after the full time whistle, and questioned what the point of VAR is if it is not going to give decisions like that.
“I’ve watched the incident back, it’s a clear penalty,” he said.
“I don’t mind the referee getting it wrong on the pitch because it’s a difficult decision – things happen really quickly. But I don’t understand what the point of VAR is then. It’s there to correct mistakes.
“He goes down my Achilles and pushes me in the back. Casemiro gets the ball, but it’s two fouls before that.
“I honestly don’t see the point in it [VAR].”
Don Hutchison praises Anthony Gordon interview
It was a great interview with Gordon, and the 23-year-old winger has received praise from pundit Don Hutchison for the way he spoke about such an important moment in the game.
Hutchison wrote on X: “Very good interview this. Anthony Gordon on Var. “Get rid of VAR or get better”. He speaks very well on getting raked down the Achilles.”
It was a captivating interview with the £40million man after the game, who spoke very articulately about a decision that had massively hindered his side. It was a shocking call, but one that may not have been decisive.
Penalty call did not define Man United vs Newcastle
While it was annoying to not be awarded a blatant penalty, Newcastle United simply were not good enough at Old Trafford. There were far too many individual errors, while they were wasteful in front of goal.
Alexander Isak and Sean Longstaff missed golden chances, while Miguel Almiron was inches away from making it 2-2 after Gordon dragged a shot wide.
Newcastle United are right to be angry with the officials, but they should be more annoyed with themselves. The result leaves the Magpies in seventh, needing to equal or better Man United’s result on Sunday to stay where they are. That will then result in an agonizing wait, as seventh-place will qualify for the Europa Conference League if Manchester City win the FA Cup on May 25th.
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