NewC 1-5 Manchester United

90 min UNITED GOAL - Saha scores from close range after some good work from Rooney.
88 min - Saha almost got to the end of Fletcher's perfectly-weighted pass.

85 min - Saha's snap shot was pushed over the bar by Harper. The latter is furious with his defenders' lack of power.

84 min - Geremi replaces Milner.

82 min - Smith hits a boomerang with the outside of his right foot, but Van der Sar pulls off an acrobative save.

80 min UNITED GOAL - Despite the close attention of Smith, Rooney bends a shot inside the post. Game over.

78 min NEWCASTLE GOAL - Faye stabs home from close range in a goalmouth melee.

74 min SUBSTITUTION - Scholes replaces Vidic.

71 min - Newcastle are struggling to break down United. The disparity in quality of players is too wide.

67 min SUBSTITUTION - Saha replaces Ronaldo.

65 min - Duff unleashes a cracker from 25 metres but Van der Sar gets his body behind the ball.

60 min - Even though it is virtually game over, Newcastle continue to pour forward in search of a consolation goal.

57 min UNITED GOAL - Fletcher pounces on a loose ball to feed Ronaldo, who rounds Harper to effectively secure a victory for United.

55 min - Nani lays off the ball to Ronaldo but the latter drills it into the stands.

53 min - Duff manages to break away from Brown and Vidic to pull the trigger. However, Van der Sar was equal to the task.

51 min - Taylor shrugs off Brown's challenge but his header lacked direction.

48 min - Newcastle are found wanting in the last third of the field.

46 min SUBSTITUTIONS Harper replaces Given. O'Shea replaces Evra.

44 min UNITED GOAL - Carrick threads a superb pass to Ronaldo, who accelerates past the Newcastle defenders to bury the ball in the bottom left-hand corner. Simply irresistible.

41 min - Tevez directs his header wide after Nani whips in a fine cross.

38 min - Fletcher makes a decent overlapping run and he crosses to Tevez, who, however, was crowded out by Newcastle defenders.

35 min YELLOW CARD - Owen is booked for a studs-high tackle on Vidic.

32 min - Milner turns well in the box but Brown blocks well.

30 min YELLOW CARD - Faye is booked for a foul on Van der Sar.

28 min - United's defence is in disarray as N'Zogbia almost plunders.

26 min UNITED GOAL - Ronaldo turns Beye inside out on the left flank and delivers a pin-point cross to Rooney, who taps home from close range.

24 min - Ferdinand seems to bring down Owen in the box. However, penalty claims were waved away.

22 min - Ronaldo turns sharply, only to fire a wayward left-footed shot.

18 min - Van der Sar flaps at Duff's free-kick but Vidic clears the danger.

15 min - Taylor clears the danger after Nani latches on to Rooney's cross.

12 min - Given collects Tevez's weak shot easily.

12 min - Milner swings in a good cross from the right but none of his team-mates were in the box to capitalise.

11 min - Duff waltzes down the left flank but his cross was cut out by Vidic.

9 min - Nani falls to the ground theatrically (again) after Butt scythes him down.

7 min - Beye knocks Nani down clumsily but United could make nothing out of that free-kick.

4 min - Owen flicks his shot wide after N'Zogbia swings in a nice cross.

3 min - United have started brightly, controlling the tempo of the game.

LINEUPS



Newcastle (4-4-2) - Shay Given, Steven Taylor, Habib Beye, Damien Duff, Nicky Butt, Abdoulaye Faye, James Milner, Joey Barton, Charles N'Zogbia, Alan Smith, Michael Owen



Man Utd (4-4-2) - Edwin Van der Sar, Rio Ferdinand, Wes Brown, Patrice Evra, Nemanja Vidic, Michael Carrick, Darren Fletcher, Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani, Wayne Rooney, Carlos Tevez

Two goals each from Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney helped Manchester United beat Newcastle and close the gap on leaders Arsenal to three points.

Wayne Rooney opened the scoring when he volleyed in Cristiano Ronaldo's cross at the far post before the supplier slotted in from Michael Carrick's pass.

Ronaldo rounded Steve Harper for his second but Newcastle reduced the deficit when Abdoulaye Faye poked in.

Rooney curled in the fourth before Louis Saha slotted in late on.

The win puts Sir Alex Ferguson's side firmly back in the hunt for the title following Arsenal's draw at Birmingham, while the defeat leaves Newcastle just six points above the relegation zone.

What will not help manager Kevin Keegan's cause is that the team have not won in 10 games and have only scored three goals in five games.

Following their 6-0 drubbing at Old Trafford in the reverse fixture last month, Newcastle were keen to avoid another embarrassment.

And for the first 24 minutes, Newcastle's defence coped well and the midfield worked tirelessly to keep the impish Ronaldo and Nani at bay with some juicy tackles.

But one of the problems for the Magpies this season is the frequent lapses of concentration and for United's first goal, left-back Charles N'Zogbia was the guilty figure allowing Rooney to steal in front of him and tuck away Ronaldo's peach of a ball at the far post.

With the seal broken and Newcastle beginning to look stereotypically raggedy, the Old Trafford side pinged the ball about from wing to wing with carefree supremacy, while Michael Carrick in the middle was quick to seize on loose balls from the Newcastle midfield.

It was Wallsend-born Carrick who set up the second goal when his surge and well-weighted pass found the eager Ronaldo who slotted his shot under Given and into the keeper's bottom left.

Ferguson's side should have added two more in the first half, but Carlos Tevez headed over from six yards after he was first to Nani's right-wing delivery while Ronaldo screwed his 10-yard angled shot wide.

Newcastle did not unleash their first shot in anger until after the interval when Damien Duff twisted inside the area and fired a low drive that Edwin van der Sar had to punch away.

Had the hosts scored then the game might have taken on a different look. Instead, the away side once again exploited the Magpies frailties to extend their advantage.

Abdoulaye Faye, back from Africa Nations Cup duty, misplaced a pass and the ball found its way to Ronaldo who motored his way towards goal.

The Portugal international fended off a foolish attempt of a tackle from Steven Taylor before rounding Harper, who came on for the injured Given at half-time, for his fifth goal against the Magpies in two matches.

Faye pulled one back for the Magpies after smashing in substitute Andy Carroll's nod down from a corner, but that only angered the visitors who scored a fourth after Rooney curled in a beautiful shot from the edge of the area.

And seconds before the final whistle there was time for ex-Magpie Saha to find the net with a low shot from Rooney's square ball.

Newcastle: Given (Harper 46), Beye, Taylor, Faye, N'Zogbia, Milner (Geremi 84), Butt, Barton (Carroll 61), Duff, Smith, Owen.
Subs Not Used: Cacapa, Ameobi.

Booked: N'Zogbia, Faye, Owen, Butt.

Goals: Faye 79.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Vidic (Scholes 74), Ferdinand, Evra (O'Shea 46), Ronaldo (Saha 67), Carrick, Fletcher, Nani, Rooney, Tevez.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Anderson.

Goals: Rooney 25, Ronaldo 45, 56, Rooney 80, Saha 90.

Att: 52,291

Ref: Chris Foy (Merseyside).