Scary Statistic Shows That Newcastle Were Always Going to Struggle Against Man Utd

Manchester United swept aside Newcastle 4-1 with relative ease at Old Trafford, and the importance of Paul Pogba was there for all to see.

The Frenchman's creativity and panache have been greatly missed by the Red Devils in recent weeks, but he was thrust back in from the start against the Magpies and the decision paid dividends as United hit four for the seventh time in all competitions this season.

Pogba's return was timely, but Newcastle were always likely to struggle to get anything from the game because they have such a poor record against them.

According to Opta, the Toon Army have now lost to United on 26 occasions in the Premier League, which is more than against any other opponent in the competition.

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It was a bright start from Rafa Benitez's men during the teatime kick-off, and they might have felt like it was going to result in a rare win to buck the trend, but a Pogba-inspired United cancelled out Dwight Gayle's opener, and the former Juventus star and Romelu Lukaku made sure of three more points against their opponents in the second half.

It's now three straight league defeats for Newcastle, who will be eyeing their next two games against Watford and struggling West Brom as potential to bounce back.