Mourinho safe? United roar back to beat Newcastle in thrilling contest
Manchester United won't give up just yet.
After conceding twice in the opening 10 minutes to Newcastle United, the Red Devils mounted a sensational comeback to win 3-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Kenedy and Yoshinori Muto gave the visitors a shocking lead early in the first half, but Juan Mata, Anthony Martial, and Alexis Sanchez each struck in the second period to revive the home crowd and ease the pressure on embattled manager Jose Mourinho.
Sanchez, Mourinho's third and final substitution, bagged the winner in the 90th minute with an opportunistic header.
It was a wild turn of events that could have saved Mourinho's job - at least for the time being. A report Friday by The Mirror's David McDonnell maintained that the Portuguese would be fired regardless of the result against Newcastle, but the turnaround at Old Trafford, with club chairman Ed Woodward in the stands, may have changed minds.
Newcastle did their best to play the spoiler, firing six shots on target in the first half alone. The Magpies, currently 19th in the Premier League standings, had just scored four goals prior to the trip to Manchester, but had no such trouble Saturday.
Kenedy's opener came seconds after a throw-in in Newcastle's own half, and Muto added to the visitors' tally minutes later, turning Ashley Young inside-out to register his first Premier League goal.
United applied pressure immediately after, and could have reduced the deficit when Romelu Lukaku whipped in a perfect cross to Marcus Rashford. However, the No. 10 steered the free header wide.
Mourinho's first change came after just 19 minutes, with Mata replacing Eric Bailly and Scott McTominay moving into defense. It was an experiment that lasted until the interval, as McTominay made way for Marouane Fellaini and Pogba transitioned to a deeper midfielder role.
Pogba vindicated Mourinho with a strong performance in his new position, playing several key passes while setting up Martial's equalizer with a spectacular backheel flick.
That final tweak, coupled with Sanchez's introduction in the 66th minute, proved a masterstroke.
Sanchez completed the comeback by nodding in Young's cross from the right flank.