It was Sandro Tonali who got Newcastle off the mark on 24 minutes after volleying home an outstanding assist from Alexander Isak. It was another absolutely gorgeous goal by the Italian, but it was cancelled out 13 minutes later by Alejandro Garnacho as Man United hit Newcastle on the counter and threatened to get back into the game.
Thankfully, whatever Ruben Amorim said to them at half time had the opposite effect of what he was likely going for as his side were atrocious in the second half.
Something Harvey Barnes was able to take full advantage of just four minutes after the restart, continuing his run into the Man United box after what looked like an overhit cross from Tino Livramento was somehow kept in by Jacob Murphy, who played it back into the middle for Barnes to fire home.
Manchester United handed Newcastle some lovely gifts in the second half
Barnes doubled his tally on 64 minutes after seizing on a mistake by Noussair Mazraoui who slipped over letting the ball run free for Harvey Barnes to scoop up and run into the area before firing beyond Altay Bayindir, in for the hapless Andre Onana.
However, it could be a case of “come back Onana, all is forgiven” as the Turkish keeper, making his Premier League debut was at clear fault for Newcastle’s fourth of the game, hitting a clearance directly to Joelinton who nodded the ball down into the path of Bruno Guimaraes who made no mistake with the finish.
A couple of minutes after Bruno Guimaraes hit the back of the net, Manchester United withdrew Bruno Fernandes to a chorus of “There’s only one Bruno” from the home crowd.
Newcastle can go third in the Premier League if they win their game in hand against Crystal Palace on Wednesday
Jason Tindall, in the dugout in place of Eddie Howe who remains in hospital, was able to make plenty of changes late on to ensure the squad remains as fresh as possible for Wednesday’s visit of Crystal Palace.
Thanks to Chelsea dropping points against Ipswich, the win today sees Newcastle leap up to fourth place in the league and a win on Wednesday would mean the Magpies will go into next weekend’s fixtures in third place.
There’s still plenty of football to be played, including games against Chelsea and Arsenal, but that Champions League qualification is looking increasingly likely.
