NEWCASTLE, England: Manchester United suffered their 14th Premier League defeat of the season – equalling their highest number of defeats in a single campaign since 1989-90 – after falling 4-1 at Newcastle United early this morning.
Despite the absence of ill manager Eddie Howe, Newcastle brightened their chances of securing a place in next season’s Champions League as they secured fourth place with 56 points.
While Howe was hospitalized with an illness, Newcastle had not lost their momentum of late and took the lead in the 24th minute through Sandro Tonali’s stunning volley.
The visitors hit back, scoring a stunning goal following a quick counterattack, finished by Argentine striker Alejandro Garnacho in the 37th minute, but Harvey Barnes put Newcastle back in front early in the second half.
Barnes added a third in the 64th minute, before a mistake by visiting goalkeeper Altay Bayindir allowed Bruno Guimaraes to score a fourth late on to lift Newcastle above Manchester City in the table, while Manchester United slipped to 14th.
“We know it’s been a tough season, there’s nothing more to say,” Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes told Sky Sports.
“Our position in the league table is not where it should be, but unfortunately we didn’t get the results we wanted.
“We need to get on with life because we have a big game coming up, we need to calm down and face it.”
Newcastle came into the match eyeing the chance to secure a league double over their opponents for the first time since 1930-31.
“Eddie and I have worked together for 17 years and in that time he has never missed more than a day or two, so he may find it difficult to miss this week,” Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall told the BBC.
“We went out and put on a performance that he would be proud of. Hopefully he will be back as soon as possible.”