The champions were left frustrated at Old Trafford as Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle held the Reds to a 1-1 draw on the opening weekend of the season.
Having gone 0-1 down to Obafemi Martins’ 22nd-minute opener, the Reds responded instantly through Darren Fletcher. However, United were unable to make the most of large periods of dominance over the 90 minutes.
This is a fixture that has traditionally produced a glut of goals - 11 in two games for the Reds last season - but it wasn't to be the case on Sunday.
Several key players were missing so this is far from a disastrous start to the Reds’ title defence. And, but for some loose marking for Martins’ goal, United could easily have walked away with all three points. On the positive side, there was a highly promising first start for Fraizer Campbell up front alongside Wayne Rooney.
Sir Alex approached the game with his attacking options significantly curtailed. Cristiano Ronaldo and Louis Saha are both out injured, while Nani is suspended for the first two games of the campaign. Rooney’s return from a virus eased the problem, but there was a further blow before kick-off when it was confirmed Carlos Tevez would miss the match after returning to Argentina following a family bereavement.
It presented 20-year-old Huddersfield-born striker Campbell with his first competitive start for the Reds.
Despite the enforced changes, it didn’t alter United's attacking approach. Campbell, for one, was intent on grasping his opportunity with both hands. He almost grabbed a seventh minute opener after a brilliant Rooney cross. The young striker’s powerful header was stopped, somewhat unsuspectingly, by goalkeeper Shay Given’s head.
The champions kept on knocking, but Given was repellent to everything thrown at him. In one attacking move, following nice work from Campbell and Darren Fletcher - playing wide right – Given denied Rooney and Paul Scholes (twice) with close-range saves.
United looked slick going forward and typically sturdy at the back. But on 22 minutes, after successive Newcastle corners, Kevin Keegan’s men took their surprise lead. Martins was unchallenged as he rose highest to head the ball past Edwin van der Sar from six yards.
Sir Alex will have been disappointed with the marking, but delighted with United's instant retaliation. The Reds immediately went hunting for the goal the team’s earlier play had deserved. Giggs sent in an inviting low cross from the left side of the box and it got the glancing touch it needed from Fletcher to take the ball past Given.
Carrick was forced off with an ankle injury shortly afterwards, and where in the first half United had put Newcastle under consistent pressure, the second half lacked any real rhythm. Campbell remained lively and forced a good save from Given on 56 minutes with a low, left-footed drive.
The pressing for a second goal with Scholes and Rooney both having long-range efforts, while a Vidic header rebounded off the bar. But the breakthrough didn't arrive and the longer the match went on, the more the Reds seemed to miss the pace and penetration from wide areas that Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani provide.
That point was exacerbated when Giggs went off injured and Sir Alex was forced to reshuffle his pack again. The fact that three players made league debuts or first starts is indication enough that the team is not yet at full strength.
Deep into injury time United were given one last shot at claiming all three points. Substitute Rafael, another league debutant, drew a foul from Butt on the edge of the area. Rooney curled his free-kick round the Newcastle wall, but it went the wrong side of the post. A 1-1 draw isn’t the ideal starting point for the champions' title defence, but United didn’t get off to a flier last season and it didn’t prove prohibitive come the end of the season. This time it's different, though. Next up in the league are away matches against Portsmouth, Liverpool and Chelsea; it won't get any easier.
Team Line-ups
Manchester United: Van der Sar; Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra; Fletcher, Carrick (O’Shea 25), Scholes, Giggs (c) (Possebon, 63); Rooney, Campbell (Rafael, 80).
Subs not used: Kusczak, Neville, J.Evans, Gibson.
Booked: Campbell, Brown, Rooney
Newcastle United: Given; Beye, Coloccini, Taylor, N’Zogbia; Milner, Guthrie, Butt (c), Gutierrez, Duff; Martin.
Subs not used: Harper, Enrique, Geremi, Smith, Edgar, Bassong, Donaldson.
Attendance: 75,512
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