On a freezing evening on Tyneside, Newcastle United continued to turn up the heat on the top four with a sixth straight Premier League home win – and their third consecutive victory over Manchester United since last season’s Carabao Cup final.
Anthony Gordon’s second-half strike was the only goal of the night, but in truth the margin could have been far more emphatic as the Magpies continue to find ways to win despite their lengthy injury list – which grew further when Nick Pope was forced off late on.
Newcastle, unchanged for a third game in a row, dominated from the first whistle, with Diogo Dalot almost turning a deflected pass from Gordon into his own net in the opening minutes. The ball appeared to strike the Portuguese defender’s arm, albeit unintentionally, but unlike the decision that went against Eddie Howe’s men in Paris in midweek, there was no intervention from VAR.
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In the 11th minute, in a rare forward foray from the visitors, Alejandro Garnacho saw a low shot blocked by the feet of Pope, but Newcastle were soon back on the front foot. In the 17th minute, a fine move resulted in Miguel Almirón getting a shot away but André Onana pushed it away, then Gordon teed up Bruno Guimarães, whose effort from the edge of the box flew narrowly off target.
Both teams were coming off draining and, in some ways, demoralizing away trips in Europe midweek. Newcastle conceded a contentious equalizer deep into stoppage time against Paris Saint-Germain and Man United was held by Galatasaray to 3-3 despite twice holding a two-goal lead.