Newcastle United thrashed struggling Manchester United 4-1 at St. James’ Park on Sunday to move up to fourth place in the Premier League standings, despite being without manager Eddie Howe.
The Magpies were led by assistants Jason Tindall and Graeme Jones after Howe was admitted to hospital on Friday with illness.
The team responded with a dominant performance, completing their first league double over Manchester United since the 1930/31 season.
From the first whistle, Newcastle were the superior side, taking the lead through Sandro Tonali, who finished Alexander Isak’s clever lobbed pass over the defence. Tonali nearly doubled the lead with a fierce long-range effort, while United goalkeeper Altay Bayındır made a smart save to deny Isak.
Garnacho levels before Newcastle take over
Against the run of play, Alejandro Garnacho pulled one back for the visitors with a composed finish past Nick Pope in the 37th minute — Manchester United’s first Premier League goal in three games. But it was a false dawn.
Newcastle came out firing in the second half, regaining the lead just four minutes after the restart. Harvey Barnes tapped in Jacob Murphy’s low cross to make it 2-1 before adding his second with a clinical strike in the 64th minute after Noussair Mazraoui slipped.
Bayındır error sums up United’s woes
Bayındır, who replaced Andre Onana after his Europa League blunders, capped a miserable United outing with a costly mistake in the 77th minute. His misplaced pass fell straight to Joelinton, who headed it into the path of Bruno Guimarães for Newcastle’s fourth goal.
United’s season hits new low
It was yet another dismal day for Ruben Amorim’s side, who have now lost 10 of their 21 league matches under the Portuguese coach. United also lost Joshua Zirkzee to a suspected hamstring injury and fell to 14th in the table, sitting just three points above the relegation zone.
Their performance was typified by lapses in concentration, poor defensive organisation, and individual errors — all of which Newcastle punished with clinical efficiency.
Newcastle, meanwhile, are just a point behind third-placed Nottingham Forest and have firmly re-entered the Champions League qualification conversation. For Manchester United, the crisis deepens as their season threatens to unravel completely.
