A rare blunder from keeper Edwin van der Sar gave Peter Lovenkrands the opportunity to give Newcastle the lead after nine minutes when he dropped a tame shot from Jonas Gutierrez.But Wayne Rooney equalised on the turn 11 minutes later and Ryan Taylor's mistake allowed Ji-Sung Park to set up Dimitar Berbatov for a simple strike in the 56th minute that leaves United seven points clear of Chelsea and Liverpool with a game in hand.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will acknowledge that this was not a performance from the top drawer and there were moments when Newcastle - particularly Obafemi Martins - rattled his side's normally composed rearguard. But with Rooney leading from the front, scoring the equaliser and helping to set up Berbatov's winner with a typical piece of quick thinking, Manchester United once again proved they have the players to grind out victories even when they are not at their best. (BBC Sport)
