Newcastle 2-0 Manchester United: Goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson ensure deserved victory

The race to the line in the Premier League is on and Newcastle have heard the go-ahead gun while Manchester United have not. This was a statement performance for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle to lift them past their opponents and into third place. As for United, this was another one of those days where a talented team just disappeared. They failed to come up with any credible scoring chances all afternoon and were lucky in the end to only lose by two.

Newcastle was superb during the 90 minutes. When they lost meekly to Erik ten Hag’s side in the Carabao Cup final at the end of February, Newcastle looked like a team that had lost their legs, pace and confidence. They couldn’t score and they couldn’t win.

But here, in an ecstatic St James’ Park, they displayed a purpose, ambition and confidence that should now serve them well as they look to secure what would be a rather remarkable top-four finish at the end of Howe’s first full season. He has eleven games left and his only requirement now is to finish above Tottenham, who has no coach, who is one point behind and has already played one more game.

The thing about this win is that it wasn’t a shock. Newcastle have embraced their new position with confidence this season and they had every reason to think they could win this. United have improved markedly under Ten Hag, but have yet to toughen up that underbelly. Here, they were pretty terrible.

Newcastle should have led at half time but were unable to take advantage of the opportunities created by fast transition football which used pace and skill on both flanks. We’ve seen United climactic spells like this before and we’ve won again. But Newcastle continued to play all the football in the second period, eventually winning the game with goals from Joe Willock and substitute Callum Wilson.

Joe Willock had given his team the lead after 65 minutes, having missed a great opportunity in the first half.

Willock’s goal capped off what had been an excellent first hour for Eddie Howe’s side, with the team working in glorious tandem.

Full time this stadium was alive. This felt like a major victory, a call to arms for Howe’s team. Newcastle are not in Europe and they are not in the FA Cup anymore. All they have is a target between now and the end of May. With this evidence, they already have their eyes on the target.

United were missing great players like holding midfielder Casemiro and the more creative Christian Eriksen. But Newcastle weren’t in top form either with their lively striker Miguel Almiron on the disabled list.

Both clubs had reason to want three more points instead of just one in this match. Both have held the top four positions for much of the season, but with Tottenham lurking in fifth place, there is still work to be done if six or seven months of hard work is to pay off.

However, only Newcastle played with the necessary urgency in the first half. The fact that his dominance for 45 minutes didn’t pay off was partly due to poor finishing, but also due to ineffective finishing. Had Howe’s team been more adept in either area, he would have led by at least one goal.

Certainly, in moving the ball from their own half into the final third, Newcastle were excellent. Howe had given his three forwards clear instructions to put pressure on the United players when they had the ball and whenever the away team’s forward moves faltered, their opponents would soon break through.

Howe, looking for a game-killing second goal, made brave substitutions after Newcastle’s opening goal.

Newcastle deserved their win having outplayed their opponent across the pitch for much of the afternoon.

Newcastle took revenge on United for their thrashing in the League Cup final more than a month ago, showing clinical edge and energy.

The Ten Hag back line struggled throughout to deal with the movement and presence of Newcastle’s Alexander Isak.

As is often the case, Alain Saint-Maximin was a threat on the left side. On the other hand, meanwhile, Jacob Murphy was effective in a different way. Some of the crosses from him and short range passes from him were excellent.

United, for their part, seemed irritable and that was largely because they weren’t allowed to settle down. The goalkeeper David de Gea received a stick from the local fans for what they considered a waste of time. But his save to target from Alexander Isak’s header in the 16th minute was more illustrative of what he actually does.

Marcus Rashford, for his part, complained bitterly when he was denied a free kick after a tackle that caused him to lose his boot. United’s other full-back Antony was also on the lookout for fouls, while Bruno Fernandes was entirely recognizable and not always in a good way.

Nick Pope on Newcastle’s goal didn’t really have a first-half save to make. Antony volleyed a corner at the far post while Wout Weghorst hit the side netting from an angle early on.

At the other end, Newcastle just needed the bounce of a ball or a clear head. Too often they had none. An early chance from Sean Longstaff failed to find its way on target and the midfielder missed again at the near post on 17 minutes. Saint-Maximin made a direct save from De Gea with a low shot, while Bruno Guimaraes finished off a deflected shot from 25 meters and Joe Willock missed the chance in the middle in the 41st minute, finishing off after a clever kick from Saint. Maximino. Of all the chances in the first half, that was the one the home team really should have gotten on.

However, the 23-year-old would make up for it. The early stages of the second half were played out in much the same way as the first. Newcastle had the whole game and attacked with breadth and energy. United, with Scott McTominay playing in an advanced role behind Weghorst, were unable to establish any control of the crucial central areas.

Still, however, Newcastle were unable to break through for a while. When he did, there were less than 25 minutes to go and it was a very nice goal.

Isak, learning to link play as he develops his understanding at the club, slipped a fine ball to Guimaraes on the right side of the penalty area. United suddenly turned around and got into trouble. The Brazilian’s lofted cross to the far post didn’t necessarily feel like the right ball, but Saint-Maximin had advanced towards the far post and when he headed back through the goal, Willock pushed the ball from a couple of yards.

With the roof almost coming out of St James’ Park, Newcastle had the lead that their football and their territory had deserved. What remained to be seen was whether United could find a way to bounce back and regain a foothold.

Newcastle immediately made changes with the addition of Joelinton and Anthony Gordon. United, for their part, had sent Jadon Sancho and Anthony Martial a few minutes before the goal.

United started to push and that felt quite natural.

But it was Newcastle who almost put the game to bed with just under 15 minutes to go. A corner from the left allowed Joelinton to take the highest jump and when De Gea headed the crossbar the danger remained. The ball was anyone’s, as he bounced across the goal, and when Fabian Schar pounced between the raised boots to head it, he was unlucky to see his effort bounce off the post.

That served as notice of Newcastle’s enduring intent. With United still unable to establish any kind of territory or possession, the home team kept coming. And a free-kick was taken from the right corner flag with two minutes of normal time left and substitute Wilson simply jumped higher and with more time and determination to beat Victor Lindelof and head to the far post. .

By the time the game reached its final moments, Newcastle had racked up 21 shots on goal. United, for their part, had led six and it was hard to remember any.

United put on another worrying display away from home and are far from certain of qualifying for the Champions League.

Erik ten Hag watched with a worried look etched on his face as United were bullied in almost every department.