Man Utd held to draw by Newcastle

An off-colour Manchester United missed the chance to open up a nine-point gap at the top of the Premier League as they were held to a draw by Newcastle.

The visitors were guilty of poor passing throughout, though Wayne Rooney and Ryan Giggs missed good chances.
And striker Javier Hernandez felt he was fouled in the box by Danny Simpson late on, only to be booked for a dive.
Newcastle deserved a point, though, and might have had a penalty of their own when Anderson felled Peter Lovenkrands.
Both decisions could have gone either way, with contact made on each occasion, but referee Lee Probert waved the appeals away to ensure an absorbing clash ended goalless at St James' Park.
It is a result which could prove valuable for Newcastle, taking them as it does to the 40-point mark teams often cite as necessary to guarantee safety from relegation.
But for Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson and his men it will be considered a case of two points dropped and means second-place Arsenal and third-place Chelsea could pull to within four and six points respectively of his side should they win their games in hand.
It remains a tall order for the chasing two, but as both face Man Utd in the run-in, neither will count themselves out of the title race just yet.