And here’s Louise Taylor’s match report:
FULL TIME: Newcastle United 3-3 Manchester United.
And that’s that. Boring, boring Louis van Gaal, huh. What a game of football. A couple of gorgeous team goals, a couple of old-school blooters, a couple of controversial penalty decisions, a couple of clear-cut chances missed at both ends. A draw’s probably a fair result on a memorable evening at St James Park. Wonderful entertainment, a game of glorious imperfection. And it’d be nice to think that, on the day he was remembered, Pavel Srníček was hanging around on a star somewhere, watching all the fun unfold.
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90 min +3: Darmian and Toney tussle on the edge of the Newcastle box. The pair go down. The home crowd scream for a penalty kick, but that’s not going to be given.
90 min +2: Perez is replaced by De Jong, whose first act is to clank a clearing header upfield, Manchester United having swung a free kick into the area from the left.
90 min +1: There will be four added minutes. If only there could be an extra 44.
GOAL! Newcastle United 3-3 Manchester United (Dummett 90)
The ball’s slung into the Manchester United area down the right. Smalling, at the far post, heads clear. The ball falls to Dummett, to the left of the D. The left-back blooters a rising effort towards the top left. The ball spins off Smalling, who is trying to close the shot down, and arrows into the corner. What a game this has been!
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89 min: Toney is dispossessed by Martial, 25 yards from his own goal. Martial makes for the area, then slides Rooney in on the left. He should get a hat-trick shot away, but overruns the pass and the ball goes out of play. What a mistake, because ...
87 min: Now Rooney does his bit in the centre of the park, breaking up play and eventually drawing a foul from Coloccini. The clock is not Newcastle’s friend. With this very much in mind, Rooney stays on the turf awhile with his face pressed into the grass.
85 min: Tiote is replaced by Toney. Here’s Jurjen Boorsma, a long time AZ Alkmaar supporter: “In 07/08 with AZ, Van Gaal didn’t win 16 matches in a row, just evaded relegation. In 08/09 AZ lost only the first two matches and became Dutch champion. Mancunians, be patient, trust Louis!”
84 min: Well, this should be all over. Memphis, who has been lively since coming on, zips down the left and whips a medium-height cross into the Newcastle box. The home side are light at the back, and Fellaini is coming in to meet the centre with his head. But he blasts his header straight at Elliot when he surely had to put the result beyond doubt.
82 min: Newcastle are pinging it around the middle of the park with great intensity, but Manchester United have dropped deep, and there’s no space to take advantage of.
80 min: Newcastle withdraw Colback in favour of Gouffran.
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GOAL! Newcastle United 2-3 Manchester United (Rooney 79)
Memphis cuts in from the left, makes a little space, and fires a low shot goalwards. It’s blocked by a sliding Mbemba, a fine tackle, but the ball breaks off a startled Dummett to Rooney on the right-hand edge of the D. Rooney sends an unstoppable screamer into the top left. Yet another stunning goal. The finish of the evening.
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77 min: Mitrovic dribbles into the Manchester United box from the right, capitalising on a mistake from Blind. He makes some space to shoot, but shanks a hopeless effort miles left of the target.
76 min: Coloccini and Fellaini crash into a 50-50 sliding tackle in the centre circle. It has no bearing on anything whatsoever, but it was a lot of old-school fun. A suggestion that Fellaini might have had a cheeky wee kick at his opponent as the Newcastle man made off with the ball, but a second yellow would have been harsh for that.
75 min: A second change by Manchester United. Herrera - who as ever has been busy and impressive - is replaced by Mata.
73 min: Wijnaldum has been excellent tonight. He makes space down the left but his curler into the box is a wee bit too long for Mitrovic. Then there’s an opportunity for Perez to shoot, 20 yards out, just to the left of centre. He gets an effort on target, but it’s weak and straight at De Gea.
70 min: A free-form melee in the middle of the Manchester United box. Mitrovic and Wijnaldum get in each other’s way from six yards. The visitors are all over the shop right now. Can Newcastle complete a remarkable turnaround while they’ve got the upper hand?
68 min: Darmian plays an awful challenge across the Manchester United back line to Sissoko, who slips Wijnaldum free into the area down the left. Wijnaldum hammers an unstoppable shot past De Gea, but he was miles offside, and the goal’s quite rightly disallowed. This is simply wonderful entertainment, though: seconds before that incident, up the other end, Manchester United had launched a free kick into the home box from the left, causing all manner of bother.
GOAL! Newcastle United 2-2 Manchester United (Mitrovic 67 pen)
From a Newcastle corner on the right, the referee points to the spot. It’s a no-brainer, because Smalling was wrestling Mitrovic to the floor in the sumo style. The defender is booked, and the striker gets up to slot the penalty kick home, into the bottom-right corner. I hope Lingard is sitting quite a long way away from his manager on the bench.
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65 min: Van Gaal, beside himself with annoyance at Lingard’s miss, hooks the player. Memphis comes on in his wake.
63 min: This is brilliant end-to-end fare. Colback is sent scampering into the Manchester United area down the right, after a lovely clipped pass from Perez. He should shoot, but opts to go down looking for a penalty, with Fellaini on his shoulder. But for once, Fellaini hasn’t been acting the big galoot this evening. No contact. Why didn’t Colback shoot?
62 min: Rooney bears down on the Newcastle box, romping along the inside-left channel. One last shimmy and he’ll be clear on goal, but Coloccini stops him on the edge of the area. Fine defending.
60 min: Incidentally, as Newcastle toil for the equaliser, their fans have been fighting the good fight. #SportsDirectShame
58 min: Corner for Newcastle on the left. Perez takes, but Fellaini wins the header. Boom. But Newcastle come back at Manchester United, and Sissoko wins anothre corner, this time on the right. From which nothing occurs. A terrible waste, but that was some decent pressure from the home side.
56 min: Manchester United should have restored their two-goal cushion. Martial makes a fool of Mbemba as he tears down the inside-right channel and into the box. He slides a pass inside for Herrera, who plays a clever first-time blind pass behind him, shuttling the ball on to Lingard, who’s set free on the penalty spot! He has to score, but over-elaborates, leaning back and looking for a fancy curler into the top right. It’s high and wide. On the bench, Louis van Gaal nearly self-combusts in anger. You’d pay cash money to be in their dressing room after the game if they don’t win this.
54 min: Newcastle are playing with an impressive urgency right now. Janmaat, Sissoko and Wijnaldum triangulating well down the right, the latter falling over by the D just as it looked as though he was going to break into the box. This game is far from over. “Not to go against the narrative in the media and the experts on online footy forums, but I’m certain history will treat Louis Van Gaal and his time at Man United well,” opines Peter Ferry. “Of course we have to sit through his cautious possession-based mid tempo turge but he’ll be the one who stabilised the club in the post-Fergie panic and steered Man United into the Giggs era. Probably.”
52 min: Sissoko twists and turns round Young, just inside the Manchester United box down the left. He reaches the left-hand corner of the six-yard area, and should score, but blasts his shot straight at De Gea. The teams should be level. From the corner, Janmaat tries to beat the keeper from 40 yards. Hmm hmm hmm.
49 min: A fairly quiet start to this half otherwise, though.
47 min: A long ball down the Newcastle left, and Wijnaldum is very close to breaking into the box. But Smalling comes across quickly to hook the ball out of play, and Manchester United snuff out the resulting attacking throw. “So does the sudden burst of exciting footer mean Van Gaal is a genius again?” wonders Ian Copestake, who seems to be under the impression that the media is fickle. Eh? What? Ian! No!
And we're off again!
Manchester United get the ball rolling for the second half, and launch it long. Fellaini heads down. The ball’s shuttled back. Then Smalling hoicks it forward. Herrera was chasing after it down the inside-left channel, but there’s too much juice on the ball and Elliot is out to claim.
Half-time entertainment: A football song from Newcastle United and Manchester United’s annus mirabilis of 1996.
HALF TIME: Newcastle United 1-2 Manchester United
And that’s that for a stupendously entertaining first half containing just about everything. A controversial penalty that was given, a controversial penalty that wasn’t given, a couple of egregious misses, and two wonderful goals. More of this, please!
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45 min +2: Blind hits long. Smalling heads down at the far post, but Mbemba’s not wafting his arms around this time. The danger’s over.
45 min +1: There will be two added minutes. In the first, Martial picks up the ball on the right, and powers towards Dummett. He cuts inside, and his low shot only just flies to the right of the post. There’s a deflection off Dummett’s heel. That’ll be a corner. From which ...
44 min: A marvellous atmosphere at St James Park. And no wonder. These two teams are putting on quite a show. This is a wonderful match.
GOAL! Newcastle United 1-2 Manchester United (Wijnaldum 42)
Newcastle have something before half-time! Coloccini, deep on the left, hits a diagonal long ball towards Mitrovic in the Manchester United box. Mitrovic beats Fellaini to the header, cushioning it down to Wijnaldum on the penalty spot. Wijnaldum meets it first time, and steers a delightful effort into the bottom right. You don’t stop that! Another picture-book goal!
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40 min: Newcastle need something before half-time, you’d think. An attack down the left is going nowhere, but Mitrovic causes a bit of bother, and Manchester United fail to clear properly. The ball breaks to Coloccini, 30 yards out in a central position. The centre-back cocks his leg back, then snap-cracks a superlative rising drive that only just flies wide and high of the top-left corner. A brilliant attempt!
GOAL! Newcastle United 0-2 Manchester United (Lingard 38)
Oh this is a marvellous goal. Newcastle are on the attack, but Herrera picks up a loose ball in the middle of his own half. He slides a pass down the inside-left channel for Rooney, who trundles towards the area. Rooney’s held up as he enters the box, but keeps possession, and keeps his head too. He dinks a delicious reverse pass towards Lingard, romping up the pitch on his outside. From a tight position on the left, Lingard takes a touch and rolls a confident finish past Elliot.
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37 min: Darmian tries his luck from the best part of 30 yards out on the left. Nope!
35 min: Tiote is quite rightly booked for an agricultural hoof on the back of Herrera’s leg. The ref’s in the thick of it tonight all right. Additionally, in the build-up to that non-penalty decision, Colback was tugged back by Fellaini, who has already committed 543 fouls and is on a booking. Plenty to talk about, huh.
32 min: Janmaat drives into the Manchester United area from the right, chasing a loose ball. He’s clipped on the back of the legs by Lingard, a clumsy tackle, and goes to ground before he can take a shot on goal. It should be a penalty kick, but Mike Dean isn’t giving it. That’s a dreadful decision.
30 min: That’s woken Newcastle up, though. Wijnaldum twists and turns down the left. He’s upended by Herrera near the penalty box, though it’s Smalling who goes in the book for the foul. The set piece is hit towards Coloccini at the far post, but De Gea punches clear of bother. This is a pretty entertaining affair, if not a match of the highest quality. But so what? All good fun.
28 min: What a chance II! And the home side should be level. Wijnaldum and Perez exchange passes down the inside-right channel. It’s a crisp one-two, and the simple play opens Manchester United up totally. Wijnaldum is free on the penalty spot! He’s got to score! But he batters a low shot straight at De Gea, who parries powerfully clear of goal.
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27 min: Herrera slides a pass down the inside-left channel to release Rooney into space. He’s one on one with Elliot! He should score, but in going for the shot across the keeper into the bottom right, sends the ball wide of the post. What a chance!
25 min: Herrera finds space down the right and fires a low ball across the face of goal. The ball brushes Coloccini’s trouser arrangement, and goes out of play for a corner on the left. The set piece is hit deep. Fellaini finds the ball at his feet, and tries a shot. It’s blocked by a sliding Dummett, who accidentally traps the ball with his armpit while facing the other way. No penalty. Fellaini shoves him in the back as he tries to spring up and clear. He finally goes in the book, for not very much it should be said. The totting-up procedure, no doubt.
23 min: Colback hoicks long into the Manchester United box. Fellaini rises to batter a header clear. Tiote tries to get the move going again with a delicate chip. It’s not so delicate. Goal kick.
21 min: Colback breaks down the middle of the park, looking for a bit of space that’s opened up ahead of him. Fellaini sticks a leg out, and should be booked for obstructing his man. But the referee opts for a ticking off instead. That’s not gone down well with the home crowd, especially in the wake of the penalty. Lucky Marouane.
18 min: Martial skins Dummett down the right, and tries to find Rooney with a low cross to the near post. There’s too much pace on the ball, and Rooney can’t react. Then Martial takes the full-back on again, with more success. His resulting pull back is intercepted by the telescopic leg of Mbemba, who blasts clear.
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16 min: It’s all Manchester United now. Newcastle, who had more than 70% possession before the penalty, now can’t get a sniff. “SuperSport in South Africa shows snippets of classic Manchester United matches, and they’ve got one of the 2-1 victory over Chelsea that more or less clinched the 19th league,” reports Thabo Mokaleng. “My favorite thing about the clip is seeing the sheer delight on Sir Alex Ferguson’s face as he lives and dies every single moment of that game. Contrast that with our rigidly stone-faced philosopher and his infamous file folio thingy.”
14 min: That’s taken the wind out of Newcastle’s sails. The home team had started well. Young has embarked on another skitter down the right, and once again it requires Sissoko to hack clear with the defence all over the shop and red shirts swarming around. Newcastle need to clear their heads. They’ve let that penalty decision get to them.
11 min: That’s going to be a controversial decision. Mbebma was as close as you like to Fellaini, so that’s a harsh decision from his point of view. But he did go in to challenge the header with Fellaini with his arm out, so in that respect was asking for trouble. On BT Sport, Howard Webb backs referee Mike Dean’s decision: the extended arm, you see. Newcastle aren’t happy, though.
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GOAL! Newcastle United 0-1 Manchester United (Rooney 9 pen)
... the corner’s hit deep. Fellaini goes up to head by the far post. His header hits the left arm of Mbemba who is standing right next to him. Mbemba’s arm is extended away from his body, and though he’s got no space to react, that’s a hand ball. Rooney steps up to slot the penalty kick into the bottom right.
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8 min: Young earns himself a bit of space down the right. He whips a cross into the six-yard box, with Rooney and Martial lurking. Sissoko reads the danger well to step in between them and head clear. Then another Manchester United attack, Darmian making bother down the right to win a corner. From which...
6 min: Fellaini tries to rugby-tackle Perez, 40 yards from the Manchester United goal, the Newcastle man making good down the middle of the pitch. A chance for the home side to load the box. Perez launches it long, and Fellaini heads clear. A strange, albeit slightly ugly, symmetry to that period of play.
4 min: Manchester United haven’t seen much of the ball yet. Newcastle have been happy to stroke it around the back, with the visitors more than content to let them do it. That corner apart, it’s been quite a quiet start.
2 min: Sissoko has started off in a very busy fashion. His hard work down the right earns the first corner of the match. It’s the first wasted corner of the match, too, overhit, with Coloccini unable to rescue the ball on the left-hand corner of the box. Manchester United clear easily.
And we're off!
Newcastle get the ball rolling. They tap it around awhile. Sissoko attempts to break down the right, but is cynically tugged back by Fellaini. The resulting free kick, taken in the middle of the park, comes to nothing.
The teams are out! Newcastle United are in their famous black-and-white stripes, while Manchester United wear their own storied first-choice red shirts. A blast of Blaydon Races, and the theme to the greatest movie ever made, Local Hero. And how apt is the title of that music, for it’s time for St James Park to pay their respects to Srníček. A minute’s applause, which should begin on the referee’s whistle, but starts well before it, so eager are the fans to celebrate their former favourite’s life. Time for a little song, too. 🎼 ♫ Pavel is a Geordie, Pavel is a Geordie ♪♫
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Pavel is a Geordie. A moment to remember former Newcastle keeper Pavel Srníček, who played in both of those tumultuous games against Manchester United in 1996. Srníček sadly passed away a fortnight ago, and tonight, at Newcastle’s first home game since the awful news broke, everyone in St James Park will pay tribute with a minute’s applause before kick-off. He’s also on the front of the match programme, and on the back of the team’s training tops, his image surrounded by the legend “Pavel is a Geordie”.
He was certainly that, as his former team-mate Steve Harper has just told BT Sport. Harper flew to the Czech Republic last week for the funeral, and was clearly very emotional as he paid his own very moving tribute: “Pav was a huge influence on me early in my career, and I’d have travelled anywhere in the world to pay my respects to him. It’s been a very emotional few days.” Harper goes on to speak very warmly of his friend, who took him under his wing as a young professional. “He wasn’t just a top goalkeeper, he was a great man. Pav got the club, got the city, got the people. But they also got him, and you’ll see a fitting tribute to him tonight.”
Steve McClaren speaks! And he looks fairly relaxed too, for a chap who has presided over four straight 1-0 defeats. “We’ve been very close but far away in terms of results. We have to maintain what we’re doing in defence, staying fairly tight, but start taking our chances. I’m sure one day, or one night, we will, and I hope it’s tonight. This is the same team we put out against Arsenal, and we played well at the Emirates, so we’d like to do the same again. I think tonight it’s very important to play football. We kept the ball, we kept possession. If we let United dominate, we’re in trouble.”
Louis van Gaal - laconic but laid-back - speaks! And he’s asked whether he’s looking for a bit more creativity and verve. Cue highly amused smile. “Also. Not only that, but also.” Then to team matters. “Juan Mata has played all the games, so he needed a rest. But I like speed on the wings, so I have chosen Herrera.” It’s then pointed out to him that he’s one win away from the Champions League spots. Another highly amused grin plays across his face. “It’s a crazy football world, huh? But first we have to win, and that’s not so easy, as you know.” And with that, he’s off. In and out quickly. A very chipper interview, too. In fact, everyone involved with Manchester United looks pretty relaxed this evening, with Wayne Rooney and Daley Blind particularly smiley as they trot out for their pre-game stretches. Penny for Newcastle’s thoughts: aren’t their opponents supposed to be under all sorts of pressure? It’s almost as if it’s a media confection.
There’s one change to the Newcastle starting XI that lost at Watford in the third round of the FA Cup: Kevin Mbabu makes way for Jack Colback.
Meanwhile Manchester United make three changes to the team sent out to kick things off against Sheffield United last weekend: Cameron Borthwick-Jackson, Juan Mata and Bastian Schweinsteiger are replaced by Ashley Young, Morgan Schneiderlin and Jesse Lingard.
Tonight's teams
Newcastle United: Elliot, Janmaat, Mbemba, Coloccini, Dummett, Tiote, Colback, Sissoko, Wijnaldum, Perez, Mitrovic.
Subs: De Jong, Gouffran, Lascelles, Darlow, Marveaux, Toney, Sterry.
Manchester United: De Gea, Young, Smalling, Blind, Darmian, Fellaini, Schneiderlin, Lingard, Ander Herrera, Martial, Rooney.
Subs: Depay, Mata, Romero, McNair, Borthwick-Jackson, Andreas Pereira, Weir.
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral).
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Good evening!
Twenty years ago, Manchester United came to St James’ Park and executed a perfect smash and grab. It was a two-man show: Peter Schmeichel stood up to relentless Newcastle United pressure, then Eric Cantona made off with the jewels. The resolute performance effectively won the title for Alex Ferguson’s side. Also in 1996 at SJP: Newcastle exact a modicum of revenge the following season with a 5-0 shellacking, David Ginola, Alan Shearer, Philippe Albert’s floated chip, all that. It was a very good year.
Twenty years on, things aren’t quite as rosy for the Uniteds of Newcastle and Manchester. They were the most exciting sides in the land back then. Now? Not so much. And it’s difficult to know what we’re going to get from either team this evening. Newcastle registered highly impressive back-to-back victories over Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in December. Since then, they’ve lost four of five matches played, and even worse, failed to beat Aston Villa in the other one. Manchester United meanwhile are unbeaten in three, and are coming off back-to-back wins over Swansea City and Sheffield United. But those victories broke a sequence of eight games without a win, while the side suffered the indignity of being cheered ironically by their own fans against the Blades the other night when they finally got round to taking a couple of shots on goal. For reasons various, neither club represents the happiest of camps.
Steve McClaren, his team currently in the relegation mire, is desperate for a victory. Louis van Gaal could do with the three points too, though with an agitated fanbase in mind, a bigger priority might be for his team to simply show a positive mindset and string together a few attractive attacks, whatever the outcome. Newcastle will go into a crucial match arguing that they’ve been playing better than four 1-0 defeats in a row suggests, and are capable of beating a team who have lost their last three on the road. Manchester United meanwhile can take succour from their last three visits here: heading backwards, they’ve won 1-0, 4-0 and 3-0.
So good luck calling what promises to be a fascinating and potentially very exciting game. These teams aren’t quite at their 1996 levels, no, but how many of us are? Games between Newcastle United and Manchester United are rarely boring. It’s on!
Kick off: 7.45pm GMT.
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