Your Monday Briefing: 12 Key Points For Reds

The world of Manchester United can be quite hectic over the weekend and it is often hard to keep up, which is why Your Monday Briefing is here to provide an informative round-up…

1: BACK TO WINNING WAYS
United bounced back from the 1-0 defeat at Chelsea before the international break with a brilliant 4-1 win over Newcastle at Old Trafford, although the Reds had to work hard after Dwight Gayle gave the Magpies a shock lead early on. Jose Mourinho’s men showed admirable composure to turn the game around, primarily thanks to goals from Anthony Martial, Chris Smalling, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku.

2: #POGBACK
Yes, Paul made his much-anticipated return from injury and he absolutely smashed it, providing a superb assist for Martial and scoring his third goal of the season in the second half. It was his first appearance since getting injured in the UEFA Champions League tie against FC Basel on 12 September and following his galvanising display, the Frenchman was voted Man of the Match by supporters on Twitter.

3: THE RETURN OF IBRA
Zlatan is back and, amazingly, only seven months after suffering a cruciate knee ligament injury last March. The Swedish striker was named on the bench against Newcastle and made a celebrated cameo in the second half, taking the place of Martial to a standing ovation from the fans. He almost scored, too, with an acrobatic volley and later discussed his comeback with typical confidence. “Lions do not recover like humans,” our new no.10 told MUTV’s Stewart Gardner in the tunnel.

4: ROJO ON THE BENCH
The good news kept on coming as Marcos Rojo returned to the matchday squad for the first time this campaign. Rojo, like Zlatan, had not featured since the Europa League tie against Anderlecht last season, and his return provides a major boost to the squad, ahead of the hectic festive schedule.

5: LUKAKU BACK AMONG THE GOALS
Romelu had not netted for United in seven matches across all competitions, which is probably why the giant Belgian unleashed all of his power when smashing past Magpies goalkeeper Rob Elliot from close range on Saturday. It was a simple finish, yet the impact could be massive for our top scorer, who already has 12 goals to his name.

6: SMALLING OUR 12TH SCORER
Speaking of finishes, let’s not overlook Chris following his important header at the close of the first half. It made him our 12 different scorer this campaign and, on social media following the final whistle, the England international joked about his ambition to win the Golden Boot award!

7: FIRST CONCESSION AT OLD TRAFFORD
Here’s a bit of trivia for you: Gayle’s early finish for Newcastle was the first goal scored at Old Trafford from open play since Everton’s Phil Jagielka on 4 April 2016, some 228 days ago.

8: BAILLY IS INJURED
That was the main negative on an otherwise positive weekend, after Mourinho confirmed the Ivorian had been excluded from his squad due to an injury. It remains to be seen how long he will be out for, and whether he will travel to Switzerland this week for the European tie at FC Basel.

9: BASEL DESTROYED SION
Speaking of Basel, they warmed up for Wednesday's Champions League game with a 5-1 win over Sion thanks to goals from Michael Lang, Mohamed Elyounoussi, Renato Steffen and Kevin Bua (2).

10: UNDER-18S IMPRESSED
Angel Gomes scored a double as Kieran McKenna’s young Reds recorded a 4-1 win at Blackburn Rovers on Saturday morning, with D'Mani Bughail-Mellor also among the goals (plus an own goal from Hayden Carter).

11: ALL SQUARE IN THE YOUTH DERBY
Later on, at Leigh Sports Village, James Wilson continued his excellent form with the Under-23s by opening the scoring in the Manchester derby against City. Unfortunately, the Blues managed to steal a goal back through Lukas Nmecha and the game finished 1-1.

12: NEW YORK IS RED
The latest #ILOVEUNITED event was held in the Big Apple, beneath the famous Brooklyn Bridge, with former strikers Andy Cole and Louis Saha in attendance. Around 1,000 American supporters attended the match screening and further events are due to be held around the world in the coming months.