The spot on Manchester United’s right wing has been filled by George Best, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo. If many another has struggled to live up to their standards, they have had few more unlikely successors than Patrick Dorgu. And yet, if only for one night, he was a revelation as a right winger.
For United, there was something endearingly improbable about. A left-field choice in one respect, the right man in another, Dorgu played out of position, delivered a barnstorming display and capped it with a wonderful winner. United, who have spent the last few weeks missing the chance to go fifth, took this opportunity with a weakened team. It was Newcastle who were left to rue the result. A glance at the teamsheets suggested they would chalk up a sixth win in seven attempts against another United. They departed defeated by an improbable cast of characters.
Newcastle United looked confounded by the way Ruben Amorim configured his team: with a back four, for only the second time in his reign, with Dorgu, often the left wing-back, on the right of midfield. They appeared dumbfounded by his prowess there. If Old Trafford wondered where United would draw their inspiration in the absence of the injured Bruno Fernandes, it came from an unexpected source, with Dorgu’s tour de force.
But the January signing had played well against Aston Villa. It formed the basis for arguably the best week of decidedly mixed United career. It was capped with a touch of class. It took Dorgu 38 games and 31 shots to open his United account, but he did it in style. He volleyed in with precision and power after latching on to Nick Woltemade’s header. “It was a good hit,” said Dorgu. “I didn’t know I could do that.”
Neither did anyone else, but his impact extended beyond that. He had a second shot saved by Aaron Ramsdale. He was the provider, with a low cross, when Benjamin Sesko skewed a shot wide.
Dorgu had often played on the right for Lecce and Amorim explained: “You put him in one position that is more in front, the responsibilities are not the same, and he has more freedom to lose the ball. I think it helped Patrick to play better.”
It did. He was a relentless runner. There were times when it seemed that Newcastle could not contain him. After he was switched to the left, Sandro Tonali was booked for fouling him. By then, Dorgu felt United’s only outlet, as they tried to hold on.
They had been inches from doubling the lead. Sesko, a Newcastle target before they signed Woltemade, rifled a shot against the bar with his final touch of the ball. Diogo Dalot could also have given United the cushion of a second goal. So, too, the shot-happy Matheus Cunha.
None did, rendering it a nervy end for a new-look side. They were operating in a 4-2-3-1 formation. Amorim, the manager who had been too inflexible, improvised and adapted. Minus seven players, four of whom would figure in their strongest 11, United then lost Mason Mount at half-time.
When Casemiro was surprised to be substituted, it left United with a distinctly unusual midfield of Diogo Dalot, Manuel Ugarte, Jack Fletcher and Dorgu. By the end, the defence took on a different complexion with a first top-flight appearance of the season each for Tyrell Malacia and Tyler Fredericson. And yet United had determination. “If we have always this spirit we are going to win so many games,” said Amorim. “We put everything on the line.”
They found a new way of winning. “Finally, a clean sheet,” said the excellent Ayden Heaven. Just United’s second of the season came in adversity, but admirably. “We suffer all together,” said Amorim.
But it was an illustration that his United can be better as underdogs. They had just 33 per cent of possession, their lowest in a Premier League win for almost three years. Starved of the ball after the break, they were pinned back, penned in. “In the second half, we just defended,” said Amorim. But there was a defiance.
Some of it stemmed from his captain; with Fernandes, for once, a spectator, wearing a woolly hat rather than the armband, Lisandro Martinez made his first start of the season as the stand-in skipper. He survived a penalty appeal, when Fabian Schar’s volley hit his hand, but at close proximity. Otherwise, he was terrific. “He is a guy with a lot of character,” said Amorim.
The relatively short Martinez helped United blunt a taller Newcastle attack. They should have other regrets. They attempted 621 passes but created too little. “We didn’t do enough,” Eddie Howe admitted. Before Dorgu struck, Senne Lammens made a fine save to repel Bruno Guimaraes’ close-range header.
They almost levelled in spectacular style, with Lewis Hall arcing a long-range shot against the bar. When they got in the penalty area, Anthony Gordon rolled a shot across the face of goal. Both the winger and Lewis Miley blazed over. “We need more creation, goalmouth action and to be more clinical,” accepted Howe.
He claimed Newcastle were not caught out by Amorim’s tactics; yet Newcastle seemed to engineer a tactical timeout when Ramsdale went down and Hall and Gordon came over to get instructions from the manager. Howe later turned to a stronger bench. Whatever he tried, though, did not work.
“We are finding a way to concede goals and we are not scoring goals and it is a deadly mix for us,” said Howe. Whereas putting Dorgu on the right flank proved a deadly combination for Amorim.
