Manchester United registered a 2-1 win over Newcastle United in a fiery Premier League game on Tuesday to go seven points clear at the top of the table. Peter Lovenkrands opened the scoring early in the first half, and Wayne Rooney notched a leveler on 20 minutes. Dimitar Berbatov put United ahead in the second period to give his team all three points. The genuine title contenders now have 65 points, while Newcastle are in 16th place with 28, just one point above the relegation zone. Rooney had an early one-on-one chance right after the kick-off, but the English international was ruled off-side. The in-form Cristiano Ronaldo tried his luck on eight minutes, but only earned a corner-kick for his team. One minute later, the hosts took the lead When Jonas Gutierrez's long-rang shot was clumsily denied by Edwin Van der Sar, who didn't concede in the last 14 games, and Lovenkrands followed up his teammate's effort to break the deadlock. Afterwards, the match was notably heated, with Newcastle looking for more goals and United trying to bring the score settle.
Berbatov Rooney scored an equalizer for the Red Devils after releasing a slick close-range shot, but later on both sides' enthusiasm tailed off a bit. After the restart, defending champions United were eagerly seeking to take the lead. Patrice Evra was released in Newcastle's box when he latched onto Rooney's deft pass, but Steven Taylor skillfully dispossessed the French defender. Four minutes from the hour mark, Berbatov took advantage of Taylor's deadly blunder and put the European champions ahead. Taylor tried to chest the ball back to Newcastle goalie Steve Harper, but he awkwardly slipped to gift the Bulgarian striker a golden chance that was easily converted. The home side were close to equalizing when Obafemi Martins, who was closely marked by Nemanja Vidic, tried to volley home but he fell in the box instead. Alex Ferguson's men kept the upper hand till the dying minutes as they were looking to ensure their slender lead. Rooney could have added a last-gasp third for United, but again failed to beat the Magpies' offside trap.
