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An 89th-minute winner from Ashley Young sealed the deal for Manchester United as Newcastle United again felt the hollows of conceding a late goal to squander points at home.
All three points meant that Manchester United remain in fourth place on the table while Newcastle also seemed to have found their niche at 11th, where they still remain despite the loss.
Newcastle United and Manchester United had accounted for 43 goals in the last eight fixtures they had had in the North-East while the last goal-less draw between the sides was 27 years ago. However, this one was a one goal affair as both teams looked rudderless and devoid of any quality in the final third.
Newcastle will have both themselves as well as the referee to blame for not coming out of this with at least a point. While referee Anthony Taylor waved away one of the most genuine penalty shouts one would have seen in recent times, the Toon’s forward pairing of Emmanuel Riviere and Papiss Cisse squandered chance after to chance to bury this one.
Eventually, Manchester United’s ball dominance and tenacity paid off as some terrible indecisiveness in Newcastle’s defensive ranks saw Ashley Young pop up with the winner. Here are the player ratings of the closely contested game:
Newcastle United
Tim Krul (7/10): A superb night turned sour for the Dutch keeper as his inadvertent hack ended up right at Ashley Young’s feet for the goal. But that shouldn’t be what he should be remembered for in the game. The Dutchman was on top of his game for most of the night and a classy double save in the second half marked the heights for him tonight.
Daryl Janmaat (7/10): The right-back did a real good job to keep Ashley Young quite. His forward runs, however, were amiss today as the Magpies seemed intent on hitting Manchester United on the counter.
Fabricio Coloccini (7/10): The skipper was neat and tidy for most of the game except for a awkward stumble in the first half which could have been disastrous had Wayne Rooney fully capitalized on it.
Mike Williamson (7/10): Williamson had a reasonably sound game, which was quite surprising to the Newcastle faithful following some abysmal performances in recent weeks.
Ryan Taylor (6.5/10): The injury-ridden Taylor was beaten for pace on a couple of occasions by Di Maria. However, he did enjoy an easier evening than many anticipated.
Gabriel Obertan (6.5/10): Former Manchester United man Obertan got in behind the full-back on a few occasions but failed to provide quality into the box. He was however, resolute in his defensive duties.
Moussa Sissoko (7.5/10): The Frenchman was strong in the middle of the park and was the main source of all Newcastle attacks. He would consider himself unlucky not to have an assist to his name as all the chances he created went abegging.
Mehdi Abeid (5.5/10): He had good positional sense and showed some strength. But, his passing left a lot to be desired, and that is putting it kindly. His indecisiveness and inability to clear the ball in the build-up to the goal cost Newcastle the game.
Sammy Ameobi (7/10): The winger worked tirelessly off the ball to cover Ryan Taylor’s lack of pace and doubled up on Angel di Maria. Amoebi was direct in his approach, but too much defensive load never quite let us see him in an advanced position.
Emmanuel Rivière (4/10): The Frenchman sorely needs a goal to his name to restore any semblance of confidence in him. Two golden misses mean that the ex-Monaco man still remains goalless in sixteen appearances for Newcastle in the Premier League.
Papiss Cissé (6/10): Cisse linked up play well while going on the counter. He however did totally scuff a great opportunity to seal the winner for Newcastle in the second half. He was also involved in the infamous spitting incident in the first half,
Substitutions
Ayoze Perez (6.5/10): He laid the ball perfectly in the path of Cisse only for the Senegalese international to badly miss a golden opportunity.
Jonas Guttierez (10/10): It was the first game back for the Argentine international after recovering from testicular cancer. While his performances on the field might not warranty such high praise, his appearance on the field will inspire people for many years to come.
Yoan Goufrran (6.5/10): He came on as a late substitute for Sammy Ameobi. Gouffran did well to track the runs of Januzaj and then Rooney only to see Abeid pour cold water over all the good work that the team had done.
Manchester United
David de Gea (7.5/10) (MOTM): He was very active whenever called upon to make a save or a crucial intervention. The Spaniard again answered the call to see to it that Manchester United got out of Tyneside with all three points. A superb save from a Papiss Cisse header in injury time sealed the deal for the Red Devils.
Antonio Valencia (6.5/10): The Ecuadorian flattered to deceive in the final third as he seemingly seemed to run out of ideas every time. He had little to do defensively as Manchester United enjoyed the lion’s share of possession.
Chris Smalling (6.5/10): Smalling was lucky not to have given away a 10th-minute penalty after blatantly hacking down Riviere inside the penalty box.
Jonny Evans (7/10): He was lucky to stay on the pitch after the first half spitting incident with Cisse, but he stuck to his job of keeping Papiss Cisse quite for majority of the evening.
Marcos Rojo (6.5/10): The rampaging left-back had to do nothing much of note except for a rasping drive which was only a few inches away from the top corner of the goal.
Ander Herrera (6/10): Too many sideway passes from him robbed the forward going play of a lot of momentum as the Spaniard failed to penetrate the Newcastle defence.
Daley Blind (7/10): The Dutchman kept it ticking in midfield without any Hollywood moments to speak about. He was guilty of losing Riviere just before the Frenchman was brought down by Smalling in the penalty box at the 10-minute mark.
Angel Di Maria (5.5/10): Di Maria was out of sorts on the wing. Apart from a couple of direct runs at Ryan Taylor when he got beyond but couldn’t capitalise, there wasn’t nothing more to write home about.
Marouane Fellaini (6.5/10): He used his strength well to keep possession of the ball and hold up play. However, he did seem confused about the role he was expected to play.
Ashley Young (7.5/10): He was the best outlet for Manchester United on the night and was in the right place at the right time to slot home the winner.
Wayne Rooney (7/10): The England international was largely bereft of service into the box, but worked his socks off for the team. Although he spurned a couple of chances, it was his hustle and refusal to give up on the play that saw the errors from the Newcastle defence leading to the goal.
Substitutions
Adnan Januzaj (6/10): He brought more directness to the attacks and showed flashes of pace and promise, but it was evident why he is still is considered to be a “raw” talent.
Michael Carrick (NA): He was sent in late to shore things up and hopefully make an impact going forward, but had too little time to affect anything.
Juan Mata (NA): The creative midfielder replaced Fellaini late on to provide more finesse to the proceedings. However, little time to effect any change meant that we didn’t see much from the Spaniard.
