Christian Eriksen was crestfallen. "It looked like every pass was a misplaced pass and it felt like every pass was worse than it actually was," the Manchester United veteran sighed following Newcastle United's 2-0 win at Old Trafford.

Just as Newcastle had intended. Eriksen and Casemiro may have a combined age of 64, but Newcastle certainly did not underestimate the pair on Monday night.

The Magpies instead set out to minimise Eriksen and Casemiro's influence and the numbers tell their own story in that regard. Eriksen (78.9%) and Casemiro's (78.1%) pass completion rates were among the worst of anyone on the field. The pair, remarkably, only found a team-mate with five long passes combined. Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton were so dominant in the middle of the park that Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim felt moved to throw on another midfielder, Kobbie Mainoo, in the 33rd minute.

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No wonder Jamie Carragher called Newcastle's midfield a 'serious combination' capable of 'going up against almost anything' in the Premier League. This game summed up why.

As well as doubling Newcastle's lead, Joelinton made seven ball recoveries - more than any other player - and won all of his aerial duels. No one made more progressive passes (eight) than Bruno or won more tackles or more fouls than the Newcastle captain. Tonali completed a whopping 89% of his passes and all of his 24 medium passes between 15 and 30 yards.

This midfield gave Newcastle the platform to dominate the opening half an hour, in particular, on the way to recording just a second victory at the Theatre of Dreams in more than half a century. That was not lost on Eddie Howe. "We believe in those three players and the control they can give us," the Newcastle boss said post-match.

Control is the word. The last time the £130m trio did not start together, Newcastle suffered a 4-2 defeat against Brentford after cramp prevented Tonali from lining up from the off. Since then, Newcastle have won five games on the bounce and conceded just a single goal.

There are numerous factors behind Newcastle's upturn in results and performances - confidence being the main one - but Howe was the first to recognise how the players are playing in their 'best positions and look happy and comfortable in those positions' after Tonali, Joelinton and Bruno started five consecutive games together for the first time.

In hindsight, pushing Bruno forward and moving Tonali into a deeper role may have been an obvious change to make, but it was a bold move from Howe. Bruno has been a powerhouse of a number six for Newcastle for so long and there are elite players out there who would not necessarily have relished a change of role.

However, the Newcastle captain has led by example in that regard and shown a 'first-class attitude'. In fact, when Tonali bagged a double in the Carabao Cup quarter-final against Brentford last month, Bruno felt like he had scored because the Brazil international 'knew how much he cared about the team and the group'.

It reflects the pair's bond off the field - Bruno refers to Tonali as his frate (brother) - and that chemistry is showing on it after a rare run of starts together. As Joelinton put it: "It's good to play with them right now."

The results have been striking. It is important to stress Newcastle's midfielders rotate during the game but, interestingly, Tonali has had more touches; made more successful passes, tackles and interceptions; and won back possession more times per 90 minutes as a number six in the Premier League despite previously starting more games as a number eight. It is rather telling that the Italy international has completed a full match on five occasions in the top-flight since dropping deep having only previously done so once as a number eight.

That is as much a tribute to Tonali's importance to this side as it is his fitness. Tonali's passing ability is hardly a secret, but what has been striking is how well the midfielder has read the fast pace of top-flight games and how 24-year-old has had the engine to get across to cut out a host of potential counter-attacking opportunities in recent weeks without even needing to make a slide tackle or give away a foul.

Tonali's ability to hold the fort and Joelinton's tireless work have enabled Bruno to cause real problems in the opponent's half. The Newcastle captain played an exquisite crossfield ball to Lewis Hall in the build-up to Alexander Isak's opener at Manchester United; hit a superb pass with the outside of his boot to slip Jacob Murphy in the run up to Isak tapping home against Aston Villa; and pounced inside the box to set up Fabian Schar's goal after Brentford goalkeeper Mark Flekken parried Hall's shot.

Even before this particular run, Bruno shone as a number eight in a 3-3 draw against Liverpool last month. It was Bruno who wriggled away from Alexis MacAllister to thread the ball through for Isak's thunderbolt. It was the midfielder who had the intelligence to take a second to wait for Isak to get back onside in the build-up to Anthony Gordon scoring Newcastle's second. It was the 27-year-old who set up Schar's last-minute equaliser with a searching free-kick.

Bruno, like Joelinton, has also been very effective without the ball. No one has won more ground duels than any other player in Europe's top five leagues (279) this season and Bruno is the only midfielder in the Premier League to pressure the opposition on more than a thousand separate occasions.

Bruno's ability to press has been invaluable in the final third in recent weeks. Bruno, for instance, read Arijanet Muric's mind when the Ipswich Town 'keeper took a goal kick and the Newcastle captain shook Jens Cajuste off the ball to set up Isak's goal. Then, just five days later, Bruno dispossessed Youri Tielemans to create an opportunity for Tonali, which forced a stunning save from Emiliano Martinez.

It felt like a sign of things to come. In this sort of form, Bruno, Joelinton and Tonali are going to take some stopping in 2025.