The Magpies secured a crucial three points with a convincing 2-0 victory over Manchester United at St James' Park yesterday afternoon.
Newcastle United were unlucky not to head into the break with the lead after squandering numerous chances - Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock - to name a couple who had golden opportunities to open the scoring.
Yet, The Geordies endeavouring attitude finally rewarded them. It was just over the hour mark where Eddie Howe's men eventually were able to find the back of the net, courtesy of Willock who nodded home from close range, after a marvellous bit of build-up play from The Black and Whites.
Then number nine, Callum Wilson, sealed the win with a pin-point accurate, glancing header into the bottom left corner from a Kieran Trippier delivery, in the 88th minute.
This win undoubtedly positions Newcastle as one of the favourites to qualify for the Champions League, and leaves Erik Ten Hag with questions to answer over his teams dismal display.
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Joe Willock: The man of the moment
As he is addressed by his Brazilian teammate, "Willockinho" for the third game running has put in a display nothing short of exceptional.
The 23-year-old, who plays a roaming box to box role in United's midfield trio, barely put a foot wrong all game which was reinforced with his impressive 87.5% passing accuracy (the third highest on the pitch).
His athleticism and stamina were just two of his bank of attributes he possesses that were showcased against The Red Devils, with the Englishman proving to be successful in 75% of his dribble attempts, while also contributing to defensive efforts - winning five ground duels, making two tackles and intercepting the ball once.
His fantastic performance was then topped off with a well deserved goal that put Newcastle in the lead, courtesy of his perfectly-timed run into the box, highlighting his improved attacking movement.
If Willock can keep this sort of consistency up for the rest of the season, Gareth Southgate surely has to come calling.
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Super Sven Botman
Never mind in the league, the Dutchman is genuinely proving to be one of the best CB's in Europe, as well as one of the transfers of the season.
The 23-year-old bounced back to his usual greatness, following a couple unlucky deflections and a passing mistake that led to a goal against Nottingham Forest, combined with recovering from a bout of food poisoning he caught on international duty.
Botman, who only cost The Magpies £35 million, showed his coolness on the ball, touching it 44 times - more than Marcus Rashford and Wout Weghorst combined - and completed 88.2% of his passes, second to Bruno Guimarães.
He also completely nullified Man Utd's target man with his defensive awareness and well-timed interceptions. In fact, the first goal came directly from a fine read by Newcastle's number four, who prevented a counter-attack by intercepting the ball before Anthony Martial had time to turn.
It is also worth noting that Botman's superiority in the air shone once again, with the defender winning 100% of his aerial duels (four). The partnership he has formed with Fabian Schär is a solid contender for the best CB duo this season, especially with The Magpies still boasting the best defensive record in the league.
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Don't look so woebegone, Wout
Ten Hag will be asking questions, but one thing is for sure, Weghorst is certainly not the answer.
Now, yes, it is understood and most likely a shared opinion among Man Utd fans that the 29-year-old has been nothing short of woeful, and is only sealing a temporary gap in The Red Devils' attack - but is he even doing that?
The Dutchman was not helped by being isolated all game, with little support from Bruno Fernandes, Rashford and Antony making it hard for the forward to get involved in attacking build-up. However, that can not be used as an excuse for the reason he only managed ten touches in 62 minutes.
That, amalgamated with him losing possession three times, and failing to win any of his ground or aerial duels, really poses the question, what his use is? He has clearly been brought in for his physicality and his ability to supposedly hold up the ball, yet the 6ft5' striker struggled to do that.
Martial was more effective in the 30 minutes he was on the pitch and surely has to be creeping closer to the starting XI.
Weghorst, who by no means is a poor player, as showcased by his successful goalscoring record at Wolfsburg in Germany, has now been exposed by the Premier league. After his spell at Burnley and now Man Utd, it is clear to see his ability does not reach the high standards of the toughest league in the world, and it would be better for the club and the player to go their separate ways.
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Ten Hag made to look a fool, following time-wasting accusations
The United boss labelled Newcastle as 'annoying', as he warned match officials to look out for 'delay' tactics by Howe's men in his pre-match press conference.
Yet, up until Newcastle took the lead, hypocrisy to the highest degree was on show with David De Gea using every chance he had to slow the the game down and waste time.
Even when The Geordies were winning, Nick Pope continued to dictate Newcastle's high tempo from the back, often looking to quickly distribute the ball out to either Trippier or Dan Burn.
Additionally, even with just seconds to go, Howe's men did not sit back / create a low block, they continued pressing with their usual high intensity and nearly scored a third, only for Schär's strike to just miss the net.
Revenge would have undoubtedly tasted rather sweet for The Geordies, whereas for Man Utd supporters - the ones who stayed past the first goal - were left with nothing but a pint of bitter at full-time, as their chase for a Champions League spot toughens even more.
By Joel Bland / @Joelblandsport
