Ashley Young scored the winner for Manchester United in the 89th minute
The Manchester United winger fired home from close range after pouncing on a weak clearance from Tim Krul, who had been put under pressure by a poor backpass from Mehdi Abeid as the game looked to be heading for a draw. Papiss Cisse came close to an injury-time leveller, but his header was well saved by David de Gea.
Once one of the league’s marquee fixtures, this match saw two sides slugging it out in a bad-tempered clash.
Newcastle’s Papiss Cisse and Manchester United defender Jonny Evans had to be separated in a first-half flashpoint where each player appeared to accuse the other of spitting, to provide an unwanted undercurrent which the standard of football on show failed to eclipse.
It was left to Jonas Gutierrez, right, to provide a little perspective. With 25 minutes remaining, the Argentinian international enjoyed a rousing welcome as he came off the bench for his first Newcastle appearance for 17 months after beating testicular cancer.
The contest was less than 10 minutes old when it saw the latest in a recent string of refereeing controversies as Newcastle were denied what appeared to be a clear penalty.
Moussa Sissoko’s ball found the run of Emmanuel Riviere who toed the ball past Chris Smalling inside the area before he was caught by the back-tracking Manchester United defender, who made contact with only his opponent.
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Papiss Cisse retaliated after Jonny Evans spat at him
It seemed a formality for Anthony Taylor to point to the spot, but the Cheshire-based official, who was well-placed and had a clear view of the incident, was unmoved.
The incident arrived during a bright opening from Newcastle, who were nevertheless fortunate not to fall behind in the 25th minute as Wayne Rooney was guilty of a glaring miss.
Ryan Taylor, in for the injured Massadio Haidara at left-back, surrendered possession to Angel Di Maria, whose cross for the right was met by Ashley Young on the edge of the area to chest the ball down for Rooney.
The Manchester United skipper didn’t make the cleanest of connections from 15 yards, and although his scuffed effort beat Krul it drifted past the post.
Di Maria was gifted the ball again soon after, this time courtesy of a slip by Fabricio Coloccini near the corner flag.
The midfielder’s centre found Rooney in the area, but his attempts to engineer space to shoot were denied by a combination of Krul and defender Mike Williamson.
The pattern of increasing dominance by the visitors was interrupted briefly when Papiss Cisse, Newcastle’s top scorer who was largely starved of service, reacted swiftly to the second ball after a knockdown to fire in a long-range half-volley which failed to threaten David De Gea’s goal.
Newcastle came close to taking the lead at the outset of the second half, Riviere finding space to force de Gea into a close range save after Coloccini knocked down Taylor’s free-kick.
Krul, however, remained the busier of the keepers. The Dutch international pulled off a thrilling double-save shortly before the hour.
Fellaini had time to control and fire in a Di Maria cross which Krul did well to block, before denying Ashley Young with an even more impressive stop.
His work should have been rewarded by Cisse breaking the deadlock shortly afterwards, but the Senegal international, normally clinical, produced a finish he will not want to see again in a hurry.
Newcastle United (4-2-3-1): Krul; Janmaat, Williamson, Coloccini, R Taylor (Gutierrez 65); Sissoko, Abeid; Obertan, Riviere (Perez 59), Ameobi (Gouffran 81); Cisse. Booked: Gutiérrez. NEXT UP: Everton (a), Mar 15 PL.
Manchester United (4-2-3-1): De Gea; Valencia, Smalling, Evans, Rojo (Carrick 88); Herrera, Blind; Di Maria (Januzaj 59), Fellaini (Mata 82), Young: Rooney. Booked: Rojo, Valencia. Goal: Young 89. NEXT UP: Arsenal (h), Monday FAC.
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