Newcastle United had held firm for 89 minutes at St James' Park - their backline looked solid and, although they had been far-from spectacular, the home side were heading towards a well-deserved and hard-fought point against Manchester United in the Premier League. Then, in a calamitous defensive moment that will appear on every single blooper reel for the 2014/15 Premier League season, the Magpies allowed Ashley Young to break the deadlock and give Louis van Gaal's men a valuable three points as the Red Devils continue in their push for a top-four finish. A quick throw-in - which arguably should have gone Newcastle's way - was not defended properly by the home side and, with Wayne Rooney breathing down his neck, Mehdi Abeid played a dangerous pass back to Tim Krul, who panicked and fired it straight to Young, who was lurking inside the area. The Red Devils winger had all the time he needed to set himself before passing the ball into the net to seal the victory for the visitors. Young's goal may have proved the decisive moment - but that is not the only reason why John Carver's men could not add to their already-accumulated tally of 35 points. The statistics from the game show why Man United triumphed on the night, and also highlight the areas in which Newcastle must improve if they are to pick up a significant number of points from their 10 remaining fixtures. Here are 10 stats that show exactly why Manchester United beat Newcastle United 1-0 in the Premier League at St James' Park on Wednesday.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
