"The worst pound-for-pound team in the country" - Winners and Losers as Newcastle trounce Man Utd

Newcastle beat Man Utd 2-0 at Old Trafford.

Eddie Howe's men are now up to fifth and are in tremendous form, meanwhile the misery compounds for Man Utd as the Red Devils have lost four straight games since winning the Manchester Derby.

For Man Utd the result now makes it three straight league defeats at home for the first time since 1962, when the club was still recovering from the Munich Air Disaster.

Who were the winners and losers from the game?

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Winner: Alexander Isak

Alexander Isak came into the match at Old Trafford on a ridiculous hot streak. The Swede had scored in all five of his games in December.

It didn't take him long to add to that, bagging within the first four minutes of the game with a majestic header to make it six straight games with a goal.

He scored a second later in the half but it was ruled out for an offside. The nature of the finish was so emphatic though it really showed the kind of confidence he's playing with.

Isak is now just one goal behind the Newcastle record for a goalscoring streak, which is shared by Joe Willock and Alan Shearer.

"The most in-form striker in the Premier League" said Jamie Carragher of Isak after the game. And when you consider that he has 8 goals and 2 assists across the month of December, could you really argue with him?

Loser: Lisandro Martinez

There were always concerns about Man Utd playing a 5'9 centre-back in the Premier League and how he would be able to handle that physicality.

What's funny is that when playing a back four, the fact that Martinez is only 5'6 didn't seem to be too much of an issue. Sure he got dunked on a couple of times but he was feisty and competitive.

However, under Ruben Amorim, playing in a back three when he should in theory have more protection, his 5'3 stature has become a real problem as Newcastle exposed tonight.

Twice a cross came into the box in the early going and twice the 4'11 Argentine got absolutely obliterated in the air by Newcastle forwards.

First Isak left him wondering where his shoes were, then Joelinton posterized the 4'7 defender to double the score and put Man Utd out of sight.

Winner: Martin Dubravka

It's been 12 years since Newcastle kept four straight clean sheets in the Premier League, but that's exactly what has just happened with Martin Dubravka.

The 35 year-old Slovakian wasn't expecting to play, but an injury to Nick Pope thrust him into the limelight and he has responded by posting four shut-outs in a row.

He didn't have much to do at Old Trafford to earn his clean sheet, but earn it he still did.

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Loser: Casemiro and Christian Eriksen

Just go back and watch the first 33 minutes before Kobbie Mainoo was introduced.

Casemiro and Christian Eriksen were great midfielders once. Maybe even world-class players, but certainly men who did incredible things. But their time has quite clearly passed and they are, individually, a liability for Man Utd.

When played together? They are nothing more than a disaster.

That opening 33 minutes was a disaster.

Gary Neville said that Man Utd were "the worst pound-for-pound team in the country" on commentary in the first-half, and honestly, is he wrong?

Loser:

Man Utd have not scored a single goal under Ruben Amorim when Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui are their wing-backs.

Those natural full-backs lack the attacking intelligence and the sheer physical speed to be difference-makers in the final third the way Amorim's wing-backs needs to be.

Mazraoui is a loser here but only for his performance which was sloppy. On both Newcastle goals the Moroccan (who has had a good season despite everything) stood off the man crossing the ball, allowng a delivery to come in and expose the weak centre of the defence.

Dalot meanwhile is a loser on a conceptual level. A poor full-back, he was redeemed by his at times superb crossing ability. As a wing-back playing with no dominant centre-forward his crossing is useless and his inability to dribble or run or threaten the back of his man just make him an absolute liability.

Man Utd need two new wing-backs, posthaste.

Loser: Joshua Zirkzee

It's rare to watch a player underperform so badly you feel sorry for them.

Joshua Zirkzee is there, though.

Hard to say what's wrong with him, but he doesn't look like he could handle the Championship let alone the Champions League.