Manchester United fell to their second straight defeat after Newcastle trashed them 3-0 at the Sports Direct Arena on Wednesday evening.
Newcastle
Tim Krul - 7.5
The Dutchman is easily one of the Premier League's best keepers now, and would be a shoo-in for Holland if not for Maarten Stekelenburg and Michel Vorm.
Although he was hardly troubled on the night, his booming clearances led to two of Newcastle's goals. The purists may detest route one football, but when it's done well, you can't deny it's effective.
Danny Simpson - 8
Showed Sir Alex Ferguson what he's missing out on, especially considering United's current injury crisis at the back.
Constantly put United on the back foot with his forays forward, and made a brilliant block on the goal line to deny Wayne Rooney. A happy 25th birthday for the United academy graduate.
Fabricio Coloccini - 7
Solid display from the Argentinean. Left his defensive partners do the dirty work in pressing the United players, and intercepted every cross that came into the box.
Mike Williamson - 7.5
Unbeatable in the air, and hardly allowed Dimitar Berbatov a sniff of the ball.
Davide Santon - 7
Exciting first-half display from the young Italian, although he faded away in the second period. Understandable considering he's only recently returned from an injury layoff. Didn't get forward much, but he regularly outwitted Nani in tight situations, showing excellent poise and technical ability.
Ryan Taylor - 7
Taylor displayed his versatility once again, putting in a competent showing in midfield this time around.
Caused all kinds of havoc in the United penalty area with his swerving deliveries from set pieces.
Cheik Tiote - 8.5
An absolute force of nature in midfield, Tiote seems almost unstoppable when he gets into his groove. Not afraid to put in a crunching tackle either, and he was very tidy with his distribution.
Yohan Cabaye (off 78') - 9.5
Take away his goal and Cabaye still put in a man-of-the-match performance, providing a calming presence in the centre of the park, and regularly getting his team on the front foot with the early ball forward.
But yes, his goal was truly something special. With just a two-step run up, the Frenchman somehow managed to generate pace and swerve on his shot, which had Anders Lindegaard beaten all ends up.
Jonas Gutierrez - 7.5
Another industrious display from the Argentinean winger, who has to be one of the most under-rated players in the league. Possesses all the traits necessary to threaten on the attack, yet shows plenty of determination when his team don't have the ball, constantly tracking back to help out his defenders.
Shola Ameobi (off 75') - 8
An inspired selection from Pardew. Who says you can't play with two target men? Ameobi did well to flick on the ball for Ba's opener, and troubled Ferdinand with his leap all night long.
Demba Ba (off 89') - 9
Given a standing ovation when he came off near the end, and rightfully so. What Newcastle will do when Ba leaves for the Africa Cup of Nations remains to be seen, but what is certain for now is that the Senegalese is one of the most lethal strikers in the league.
Made the normally-robust Phil Jones look like a school kid, but despite his physical nature, Ba has superb technique, as he showed when he gave the Magpies the lead, turning with his back towards goal and hitting the ball on a full volley, nearly bursting the net in the process.
Subs
Leon Best (on 75') - 6
Brought on to give Ameobi a well-deserved rest.
James Perch (on 78') - N/A
Came on late in the game to shore up the defence with Newcastle looking to hold on to their lead. Not that he was really needed, such was the ineptitude of United's attack.
Gabriel Obertan (on 89') - N/A
It's always nice to come on against your former club with a win in the back. Obertan must have enjoyed his four minutes on the pitch.
Man United
Anders Lindegaard - 6.5
In his defence, there was little Lindegaard could do for all three of Newcastle's goals. Did flap at one cross, and must have made Sir Alex Ferguson wonder if he had fielded David de Gea by mistake.
Otherwise, Lindegaard claimed crosses with authority, and was only let down by an inept defence.
Antonio Valencia - 7
One of only two players who deserved to pull on the United jersey on the night. The Ecuadorian looked steady at the back despite being deployed out of position, and looked like a man on a mission early on in the second half as he bombed forward with regularity, looking to salvage something for his side.
Rio Ferdinand - 6
While it appears Ferdinand's best days are behind him, he is still very capable of playing a role for United.
Not tonight however, as he lacked the pace and leap to handle Ameobi, and nearly got himself into trouble several times when he tried to play his way out of defence.
Phil Jones - 5
Jones has spent much of this season making a mockery of his tender years by bullying opposition strikers into submission with his sheer physicality.
However, he finally met his match this evening as Ba gave him a torrid time, swatting his challenges away with ease, and exposing his lack of awareness in the centre of defence.
Patrice Evra - 6
Failed to offer United anything going forward, but still - wasn't one of their worst on the night.
Nani - 4
Reminiscent of the Nani we got to know when United first signed him in 2007. Self-indulgent and lazy, the Portuguese winger spent much of the game dancing in circles, only to send in feeble and aimless crosses to no one in particular.
Michael Carrick - 5
Restored to his preferred position in the centre of the park, Carrick was outmuscled by Tiote in ever y challenge, and outwitted by Cabaye in every duel.
It's easy to see why he's still regarded as a "pass master", but it's probably easier when you don't play the ball more than five yards.
Ryan Giggs - 7.5
The best United player on the park, and embarrassingly for the rest of the Red Devils, the oldest by a mile.
Giggs was the only one capable of retaining possession in the middle of the park, and distributed the ball well as he looked to stretch the Newcastle defence.
Park Ji-sung (off 66') - 4.5
It's not often the industrious midfielder gets such a low rating, as his work ethic and determination normally counts for something.
However, Park was really found wanting tonight, and was virtually unsighted for all of the 66 minutes he spent on the field.
Wayne Rooney (off 75') - 5
Came closest to scoring for United when his effort from six yards out was cleared off the line by Simpson.
Other than that, Rooney was sloppy in his control and distribution, and wasted an excellent opportunity in the first half when he totally missed the ball after being played through by Giggs.
Dimitar Berbatov (off 57') - 4.5
You can see why the Bulgarian's critics regularly say he goes missing when United need him the most. Apart from one hat-trick against Liverpool last season, Berbatov often goes missing in crunch fixtures, preferring to perform against the perceived weaker sides.
Subs
Danny Welbeck (on 57') - 6.5
To Welbeck's credit, he did try to run at the Newcastle defence after he was brought on, and at least gave Simpson something to think about.
Javier Hernandez (on 66') - 5
A fantastic player inside the box, but terrible outside it.
Hernandez still has plenty of growth left, but until he improves his overall game, he will be solely limited to being a "fox in the box".
Anderson (on 75') - 5.5
Gave the ball away on a number of occasions during his brief time on the field. Failed to provide the Red Devils the drive he did when he came on against Blackburn last Saturday.
Post time 5-1-2012 08:25 AM
