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• Eddie Howe salutes performance as Newcastle end gruelling week with Man Utd win

  Eddie Howe saluted one of Newcastle’s best performances of the season after watching them beat Manchester United to end a gruelling week on a high.

  Four days after suffering late heartache in a 1-1 Champions League draw with Paris St Germain, having dispatched Premier League rivals Chelsea 4-1 before heading for France, the Magpies secured a 1-0 league victory over the men from Old Trafford at St James’ Park.

  Asked if that represented the perfect ending to a testing week, head coach Howe said: “Yes it is. I think that’s one of our best performances of the season, for me.

  “I thought we were very, very good on and off the ball and when you consider the week we’ve had and the difficult games we’ve had, the end of the game in Paris, what a response from the group of players.”

  Anthony Gordon’s 55th-minute strike from Kieran Trippier’s cross ultimately secured the points on a night when Newcastle largely dominated without reward until his intervention.

  Having been robbed of victory by a contentious stoppage-time penalty in Paris, they were spared further pain when Harry Maguire inadvertently turned Antony’s shot past substitute goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, but from an offside position.

  Gordon has now scored in each of his last four league games on Tyneside and taken his tally for the season to six goals to reap the rewards of his hard work on the training pitch.

  Howe said: “He himself has really worked on that.

  “I’m really pleased because I thought he played really well at the start of the season, but every attacker needs to score, needs to have that feeling and that confidence that that brings.

  “It elevates your game, not just the goals, but he’s getting assists as well. He’s involved in match-winning moments.

  “I thought he played really well again today. It was a really good cross from Kieran, a good team move and a good finish.”

  The only disappointment for Howe was that goalkeeper Nick Pope, who has played such a key role in the club’s recent success, suffered a dislocated shoulder late in the game and may now need surgery.

  Asked how long he might be sidelined, the 46-year-old said: “It’s too early to say. He was in pain when the shoulder was out of its joint. It’s been put back in now and he feels much more comfortable.

  “We’ll seek specialist opinion, but it doesn’t look good.”

  It proved a difficult night for the visitors, who have now lost to the Magpies in their last three encounters and rarely looked like avoiding that fate until a late flurry.

  Manager Erik ten Hag said: “Today we have to say ‘credit to Newcastle’. After the start, where we could have scored with (Alejandro) Garnacho, they were better than us, they were more proactive.

  “We had to go back, we had to defend and we did that. We allowed them one goal, but at the end, we fought back, we had two good opportunities, but unluckily we could not take a point from here.”

  England international Marcus Rashford in particular cut a frustrated figure and was replaced by Rasmus Hojlund with 29 minutes remaining.

  Asked about Rashford’s form, Ten Hag said: “He works hard and he is investing a lot. He will get back, he will recover and he’s got all our support.”

• Anthony Gordon on target as Newcastle edge Premier League victory over Man Utd

  Anthony Gordon’s sixth goal of the season handed Newcastle a sixth-successive Premier League victory at St James’ Park as Manchester United became their latest victims.

  The Magpies, who returned from Paris St Germain in midweek bitterly disappointed with a 1-1 Champions League draw, dominated for all but the final few minutes and perhaps should have secured the points in more emphatic fashion with Kieran Trippier seeing a first-half free-kick come back off the crossbar.

  However, Gordon’s 55th-minute finish – the fourth-successive home league game in which he has scored – proved sufficient to clinch a 1-0 win and send Eddie Howe’s side above the Red Devils in the table, although his joy was tempered by a potentially-serious injury to goalkeeper Nick Pope.

  Manchester United, who had thrown away a 3-1 lead at Galatasaray to draw 3-3 on Wednesday evening, created little of note – they saw a late goal ruled out after Antony’s shot had clipped Harry Maguire in an offside position – as their run of five wins in six league games came to an end in front of a crowd of 52,214.

  Under-fire goalkeeper Andre Onana and Diogo Dalot got themselves in a tangle as they attempted to deal with a Gordon cross, although opposite number Pope had to repel Alejandro Garnacho’s 11th-minute attempt with a well-placed foot after Bruno Fernandes’ superb pass had played him in behind Trippier.

  Garnacho became an increasing threat down the Magpies’ right as Manchester United started to impose themselves, but Luke Shaw had to block Alexander Isak’s 15th-minute effort after Trippier had fizzed the ball into his feet inside the penalty area.

  Onana saved from Miguel Almiron following a neat one-two between Joelinton and Trippier, while Guimaraes smashed an 18th-minute shot over from distance after Tino Livramento had surged forward down the left and cut the ball back.

  The visitors were creaking and Maguire had to be in the right place at the right time to deflect Isak’s goal-bound effort wide before Jamaal Lascelles headed over from the resulting corner.

  Playmaker Fernandes did his best to drag Erik ten Hag’s men into the game, but too often the men ahead of him were not equal to the task and they continued to look less than certain at the back with Isak firing wide 12 minutes before the break after Aaron Wan-Bissaka had headed Fabian Schar’s long ball straight to him.

  Almiron curled an attempt over the angle of post and crossbar after cutting inside Dalot from Trippier’s through-ball, but Onana enjoyed the kind of fortune which has eluded him in recent weeks when Trippier rattled the crossbar with a 39th-minute free-kick after Maguire had felled Schar 25 yards out.

  Livramento, whose scything run led to Isak’s goal at Paris St Germain, almost repeated the dose two minutes after the restart when he set up Almiron, but saw the Paraguay international’s shot half-blocked to allow Onana to save comfortably.

  The keeper was finally beaten seconds later when Guimaraes rolled the ball into Trippier’s path and he crossed low to the far post for Gordon to score.

  Schar whistled a shot from distance a foot over Onana’s crossbar as the home side looked to kill the game off, and Ten Hag responded by replacing Marcus Rashford and Martial with Antony and Rasmus Hojlund.

  Antony added vigour to a side in desperate need of inspiration, but to little real effect and Wan-Bissaka survived penalty appeals for handball after blocking Lewis Miley’s shot with 12 minutes remaining.

  Schar had to throw his body into the path of Sergio Reguilon’s well-struck 82nd-minute volley, although Pope’s evening ended in agony as he was led from the pitch having suffered an injury as he dived in anticipation behind the defender.

  Replacement Martin Dubravka was beaten with two minutes of normal time left on the clock, but an offside flag came to the tiring Magpies’ rescue and they safely negotiated nine minutes of stoppage-time to claim victory.

• Arsenal and Liverpool can challenge Man City in 'open' title race, believes Anderton

  Both Arsenal and Liverpool are capable of pushing Manchester City close in what promises to be the most open Premier League title race in recent years.

  That is the view of former Tottenham and England midfielder Darren Anderton, though he says Pep Guardiola's men are still the team to beat as they chase an unprecedented fourth successive English top-flight title.

  Ahead of Saturday's Premier League fixtures, just two points separated leaders Arsenal and fourth-placed Aston Villa, with City and Liverpool nestled between that pair.

  The 2015-16 season, when Leicester City stunned the football world by winning the title under Claudio Ranieri, is the only previous Premier League campaign to feature such a slender gap between first and fourth after 13 matchdays.

  Mikel Arteta's Arsenal moved four points clear at the summit, at least temporarily, by clinging on for a 2-1 win over Wolves on Saturday, and Anderton believes they and Liverpool can keep things interesting at the top this season.

  "Manchester City are going to be involved in it, there's no doubt about it," Anderton told Stats Perform when asked to name his title favourites. 

  "Arsenal are obviously still going well and Liverpool have come back this year, so I think it's going to be a little bit more open than it has been in recent years. 

  "If you had to ask me, I would expect that Manchester City are going to be the team to beat again. I love Pep, I love the football that they play. 

  "Obviously, with Haaland, they've got a goal machine and they're always going to create opportunities and they're always going to keep strengthening and getting better and better. 

  "Everyone's got to try and keep pace with them."

  Some tipped Anderton's former club Spurs for a surprise title bid when new boss Ange Postecoglou led them to an unbeaten 10-game start to the season, but injuries to key men James Maddison and Micky van de Ven have taken their toll at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in recent weeks.

  Tottenham approach Sunday's meeting with City looking to halt a three-game losing run, having gone down to Chelsea (1-4), Wolves (1-2) and Villa (1-2) despite opening the scoring in each match.

  Anderton believes UEFA Champions League football should be the primary aim for Postecoglou's team this season, saying: "I think, with Spurs, we need to get that win to get us going again. 

  "If we do, then we can go on another run like we did at the start of the season. For Spurs, I'd love just to see them back in the Champions League. That's the first step. 

  "There's no reason why that's not achievable, in my opinion. You might need a little bit of luck and to get players back as soon as possible, but that's definitely a goal that can be achieved."