Wayne Rooney and Manchester United stunned at home

Manchester United's 100 percent record in the league is gone


They had too much predictable possession and too little proactive attacking. Newcastle United gradually got to grips with that to claim a creditable 0-0 draw, even if they had goalkeeper Tim Krul and a linesman's flag to thank.
The frustration for the home side -- beyond Wayne Rooney's having a first-half effort ruled out for offside -- was that there were yet again early glimpses of what might have been, of what is possible.
For the first 20 minutes, the home side were excellent. They were playing exquisite little triangles all over the pitch, before releasing players like Memphis Depay and Adnan Januzaj into space.
At that point, they could have been 3-0 up. But when Bastian Schweinsteiger seemed to pick up an injury, he slowed down -- and so did all of United's play.
For the next hour, Newcastle looked all too comfortable and Van Gaal's side all too prosaic. Almost every ball was telegraphed.
That changed again in a typical late flurry, but the late chances for Javier Hernandez and Chris Smalling were more out of desperation and drive than the manager's grand design. And even if those chances still came, that is significant because of how wedded Van Gaal is to this approach. He refuses to alter it even when it is not working fully.
There is still the overall sense with United that their best attackers are only ever allowed to truly create in minimised bursts. Although that means Van Gaal's team generally maximise possession in games like this, they don't maximise their potential.
He still has to strike that balance. United's rather dull opening performances, meanwhile, seem to have balanced out with this draw.