Newcastle took revenge on its guest, Manchester United, and removed it from third place by defeating it 2-0 on Sunday in the twenty-ninth stage of the English Football League .
The match was a rematch of the League Cup final, which United won 2-0 on February 26 to win its first title since 2017, which made coach Eddie Howe's team fully motivated to emerge victorious in front of his fans.
And Newcastle deserved its third consecutive and thirteenth victory this season, as it was the best party throughout the match periods.
Newcastle raised its tally to 50 points in third place, on goal difference, from Dutch coach Eric Ten Hag's team, who failed to win for a third stage in a row, after the historic defeat against rivals Liverpool 0-7 and a goalless draw with its host Southampton.
United may drop to fifth place on Monday if Tottenham (49 points) win at Everton.
And Newcastle defender Dan Bourne expressed his happiness with this victory, telling Sky Sports that it was a “really special” victory. United have always hated us as fans... It was good to get the win today. .
And he believed that "it was a great result today. We are now entering the last 11 matches with a really good chance" in order to obtain a qualifying position for the Champions League competition next season.
The fast-paced start came with mutual attacks, but Newcastle was the most dangerous and approached the opening of the scoring with a double first chance for Swede Alexander Isaac from a header. Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea shone in blocking it, then got up quickly to stand in the face of Joe Willock (16), before shining again. He was blocked by a long shot by Frenchman Alain Saint-Maximin (17).
Then the real chances of the two goals were absent until the 38th minute, when Sean Longstaff fired a missile ball from outside the area, which passed very close to the right post of De Gea’s goal, who again escaped from a goal with another powerful shot, this time from Willock just over the crossbar (41).
Newcastle started the second half from where the first ended, and Swiss Fabian Char tested his luck with a shot from outside the area, but the ball passed by the left post (58).
In the midst of the offensive deficit, Ten Hag decided to throw in the French Anthony Martial and Gaydon Sancho instead of the Brazilian Anthony and the Dutchman Fout Fijkhorst (61), but nothing changed, but Newcastle managed to open the scoring with a header from Willock after a group game and a head pass from Isaac (65).
Newcastle was close to directing the knockout blow to its guest with a second goal, but De Gea saved the situation with the help of the crossbar after a header by Brazilian substitute Jolinton, then the ball reached Char and turned it with his head to find the savior Martial, who removed it from the goal line (76).
But Howe's men made amends in the 88th minute and finally settled the three points, thanks to substitute Callum Wilson's header, following a free kick carried out by Kieran Trippier from the right, confirming this, United's seventh defeat in the league this season.
Moroccan Nayef Akrad gifted his team, West Ham, a fateful victory for the struggle to stay in the Premier League, by scoring the only goal of the match against its guest, Southampton.
Akrd scored the only goal in the 25th minute with a header with a free kick, giving the Scottish coach David Moyes' team a six-point victory, since it came at the expense of a team also competing for survival among the seniors.
And with his seventh victory this season, which he would have escaped if the crossbar had not helped him by blocking Nigerian Paul Inuacho’s header in the 86th minute, West Ham raised its score to 27 points in the fourteenth place, while Southampton’s balance froze at 23 in the last twentieth place after receiving the eighteenth defeat for this. season.