By half-time the writing seemed to be on the wall for Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho.
If reports earlier on Saturday were to be believed, the 55-year-old was to be sacked following his side’s early evening game against Newcastle United at Old Trafford win, lose or draw.
And after goals from Kennedy and Yoshinori Muto in the opening 10 minutes it looked like there was no way back for Mourinho, despite the home crowd chanting their manager’s name while directing a chorus of boos towards Ed Woodward – the United executive vice-chairman – and other members of the board.
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