Man Utd (A) player ratings: Trippier, Longstaff (yet again), Anderson, and Isak were all really poor at Old Trafford

Newcastle United fell to a 3-2 defeat against a depleted Manchester United side at Old Trafford, with Bruno Fernandes running the show for the hosts and too many in black and white flattering to deceive.

Kieran Trippier, Sean Longstaff, and Alexander Isak were particularly poor for the Magpies, although Trippier's probably not match fit and Isak still looks to be suffering from the effects of illness.

We're not sure what Longstaff's excuse is at this point—given Howe said he's no longer struggling with his foot in the last press conference—but we're sick to death of seeing him play like this.

There were brighter showings from Lewis Hall, who scored a cracker, Anthony Gordon, who finished brilliantly for his goal, and Jacob Murphy, who made Gordon's chance and was a threat with his crossing all night.

Everyone else was pretty average, though Bruno tried his utmost in difficult circumstances and with little support from his midfield colleagues. The Brazilian, like Longstaff, did miss a huge chance, however.

Here's how we rated all 15 players fielded by Eddie Howe on another disappointing night for the club in a season of extreme highs and lows.

We don't really deserve European football based on this performance

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Martin Dúbravka – 5

Made a big one-on-one save from Garnacho midway through the first half but stood no chance for the opening goal due to Trippier's positional error gifting Mainoo an easy chance. He got nowhere near Diallo's goal for 2-1 and was poor once again for the third from Højlund.

Kieran Trippier (c) – 3

He was at fault for the opening goal due to being far too deep—playing Mainoo well onside for an easy finish—and his set-piece delivery was hit-and-miss throughout his hour on the pitch. He likely wouldn't have started had Livramento not been injured once again, though.

Emil Krafth – 5

Put in one really good cross soon after being moved to right-back to make a chance for Joelinton but failed in a couple of big moments thereafter when coming in at the far post. He had defended soundly enough at centre-back before that but wasn't great in possession.

Dan Burn – 6

He was at fault for the hosts' first chance of the game when giving away a needless free-kick and then being very slow to get out. While he was unfortunate not to equalise from Murphy's deep cross, his one-on-one defending for Højlund's goal left an awful lot to be desired.

Lewis Hall – 8

The youngster the game brightly, showing good composure in possession and working the ball forward at every opportunity. While he didn't defend very well for the home side's third goal, he gave us some hope with a wonderful 20-yard finish to make it 3-2 late on.

Sean Longstaff – 3

Wasted a big opportunity to create a chance early on when failing to find a teammate with a through ball and missed a massive one-on-one at 2-1 when put through by Joelinton. There was no goal to save this performance, sadly, in which he didn't contest a single duel.

Bruno Guimarães – 7

Most notable for his defensive work in the early part of the game, Bruno also showed some nice touches to wriggle out of tricky situations in possession. He missed our best chance of the first half when heading wide from a Trippier corner and was a bit quiet after half-time.

Elliot Anderson – 3

Wasted a huge opportunity to play Gordon in early on, massively overhitting an easy through ball to Onana, and was barely a factor in the contest otherwise before being replaced by Joelinton on the hour. He didn't manage to make a single tackle or interception in midfield.

Jacob Murphy – 8

His cross for Gordon's equaliser was fantastic and he'd put in many quality deliveries before that too, making a great chance for Burn in the first half. He also made a brilliant saving tackle on Diallo before the break, but his defensive header for their second goal was weak.

Alexander Isak – 3

The striker started the game poorly, still not looking near full fitness and things didn't improve from there, unfortunately. He missed a huge chance at 1-1 that could have put a very different complexion on the game and was rarely involved in a positive capacity otherwise.

Anthony Gordon – 8 ⭐️

He looked electric in the first half up against a very good one-on-one defender in Wan-Bissaka and should have won another penalty. He finished brilliantly for the equaliser but sadly wasted numerous other good openings, though he created most by himself.

With such a strong bench we could have made earlier substitutions

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

Fabian Schär – 6

Had he started then things might have been very different, because we struggled to build from defence due to Burn and Krafth's lack of quality on the ball. He tried to play positively and aggressively to get us back into the game but was unable to have much impact.

Joelinton – 7

Big Joe made a huge chance for Longstaff soon after coming on which was wasted and then rose brilliantly to force an excellent save from Onana after a good cross by Krafth. He did everything he could to drag us back into the game but was a little bit sloppy at times.

Miguel Almirón – 5

The Paraguayan managed only nine touches in over 30 minutes of action and might as well not have come off the bench for what he contributed to the cause.

Harvey Barnes – 5

Introduced later than we'd have liked—even considering how bad he was against Brighton—he played with purpose and intensity but was never able to pick the lock.

Last up for the Magpies is Brentford away

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This interminable campaign finally reaches its conclusion at 4 p.m. BST on Sunday, with Eddie Howe taking the players to the Gtech Community Stadium for an untelevised fixture.

We still have an outside chance of finishing sixth—though we'd need to win and Chelsea would need to lose at home to Bournemouth for that to happen—and we can still drop to eighth if Man Utd better our result.

Whatever the outcome, we just can't wait for the season to be over at this stage. There've been some magical highs but far, far too many lows and the injury situation has been a joke.

Still, for the final time in 2023/24... Howay the lads!