Manchester United stretch their lead to 7 points with a 4-3 win over Newcastle United

Manchester United came back from behind three times through goals from Evans, Evra and Robin van Persie, before Hernandez scored the winner on the 90th minute. Unfortunately Evans scored on both ends of the pitch. The own goal was controversial and was ruled out for offside initially, but the referee allowed the goal to stand after consulting his assistant on the far side. United were chasing the game from the beginning but finally lived up to their reputation of comeback kings. The game was nerve wrecking and United were trailing 2-1 at the end of 1st half, but they came back strongly to win the game. There was a serious looking injury to Anita at the end of the game, he had to be stretchered off.

Player Ratings:

Manchester United

David de Gea – 6.0

The Spaniard was solely responsible for the first Newcastle goal, he failed to hold onto Ba’s shot that lead to the rebound and James Perch didn’t miss the target.

Chris Smalling – 6.5

Smalling was forced to play in an unusual Right Back position,the Englishman lacks some serious pace and was under a lot of pressure from Marveaux and Santon down the wing. He wasn’t allowed to play his natural game but at times he joined the attack.

Jonny Evans – 7.0

Evans scored initially for United and then for Newcastle, he scored on both the ends of the pitch. Evans showed good discipline at the back and stood strong against the likes of Ba and Cisse.

Rio Ferdinand – 6.0

Ferdinand wasn’t at his best. He failed to close down the shots from the Newcastle attackers, and was aerially weak.

Patrice Evra –  7.5

The captain led from the front. He scored another goal to raise his goal tally to 4 this season. Defensively Evra’s marking was exceptional. Going forward he combined well with Giggs on the left hand side.

Antonia Valencia – 6.0

Valencia failed to sparkle, though there were moments of individual brilliance at times. He was frustrated with himself that saw a harsh tackle on Anita at the end of the game.

Michael Carrick – 8.0

Carrick made his presence felt in the United midfield, his creativity in the midfield certainly worked as a game clincher for the home side.

Paul Scholes – 6.0

The veteran struggled against the pace of Anita and Perch in the midfield and was eventually taken off by Sir Alex in the 2nd half to be replace by Cleverly.

Ryan Giggs – 8.0

Ryan Giggs performed exceptionally on the left wing, he created a lot of chances in the second half. The Evra Giggs combo was a nightmare to the Newcastle defence on the left. A rare game where the Welsh wizard has played for 90 minutes.

Robin van Persie – 8.0

The Dutchman cant stop scoring goals.1st half wasn’t so impressive but during the 2nd half he dropped down deep into the midfield and helped out the team. He eventually scored a goal off rebound from his shot.

Javier Hernanadez – 7.0

Hernandez was caught for offside more often than not. He failed to time his runs to perfection. But the Mexican scored when it mattered giving United the lead on 91st minute with a diving header.

Substitutes:

Tom Cleverley – 6.0

Came as a replacement for Scholes. Injected some pace in the United midfield. Retained the possession and won the ball to hold up the midfield.

Darren Fletcher – 5.5

Came on as a late substitute for Hernandez.

Newcastle United:

Tim Krul – 6.0

Krul let Patrice Evra’s shot slip under his hands that went in to level the scores for the second time in the game.

Danny Simpson – 6.5

Simpsons authority on the right wing was disrupted by Evra and Giggs  who took over the game.

Michael Williamson – 6.5

Williamson was impressive initially but looked jaded as the game went on, shouldn’t have let Hernandez grab the winning goal.

Fabricio Coloccini – 7.0

The captain was a rock at the back. His marking was impressive and made a few impressive clearances.

Davide Santon – 7.5

Santon was the pick of Newcastle players. He was impressive in attack and did pretty well to shrug off Valencia down the wing.

Papiss Demba Cisse – 8.0

Played in a much wider position.made surging runs into the heart of United’s defence. Managed to score from an Obertan cross.

James Perch – 7.5

Was pretty quick and was quite effective against the likes of Scholes. Scored initially from a rebound which gave the visitors lead on the 7th minute. Failed to impress in the 2nd half.

Vurnon Anita – 6.5

Anita controlled the midfield pretty well, but was forced out of the final moments of the game with an injury.

Gael Bigirimana – 6.0

The midfielder was never to be seen in the game and was substituted in the 2nd half.

Sylvain Marveaux – 7.0

Played pretty well on the wing. The free-kick in the first half was a gem but unfortunately hit the cross-bar.

Demba Ba – 7.0

The goal machine found it difficult to net the ball, but worked pretty hard throughout the game.

Substitutes:

Gabriel Obertan – 7.0

The winger made an immediate mark on the game against his former club as he created a chance for Cisse that gave the lead to the away side which stayed only for three minutes before Robin van Persie equalised.

Shola Ameobi – 6.0

Coming on as a late substitute, he didn’t have much impact on the game.

Sammy Ameobi – 6.5

The Ameobi brother was unlucky as his effort hit the post.

Tags: EPL, Football, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Player Ratings, The Sports Mirror