Pogba leads Man Utd charge
London, Nov. 19: Paul Pogba marked his comeback with a goal and an assist as Manchester United fought back to beat Newcastle United 4-1 and stay on Manchester City’s tail.
Sidelined since midSeptember by a hamstring injury, France midfielder Pogba made a decisive return as Jose Mourinho’s side restored the eightpoint gap that separates them from Premier League leaders City.
Pep Guardiola’s City had earlier prevailed 2-0 at Leicester City and there were also wins for champions Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal, who beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the north London derby.
United remain second, a point above Chelsea, who climbed above Tottenham into third place courtesy of a 4-0 success at West Bromwich Albion.
In addition to Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic received a rapturous reception from United’s fans when he came on as a substitute following his recovery from a serious knee injury.
Dwight Gayle put Newcastle ahead in the 14th minute.
But Pogba’s feathery cross teed up Anthony Martial to head in a 37thminute equaliser and after Chris Smalling had headed the hosts in front, Pogba tapped in Marcus Rashford’s header early in the second half.
Romelu Lukaku added a fourth, swapping passes with Juan Mata and thrashing home.
At Leicester, Gabriel Jesus and Kevin De Bruyne struck fine goals as ruthless Manchester City registered a 16th successive victory in all competitions, winning 2-0.
Chelsea piled the pressure on West Brom manager Tony Pulis with a breezy 4-0 win.
Liverpool remain fifth, above sixth-place Arsenal on goal difference, after a routine 3-0 home win over Southampton at Anfield.
Burnley won 2-0 over Swansea City. Crystal Palace were twice pegged back in a lively 2-2 home draw with Everton.
Callum Wilson netted a hat-trick and Harry Arter also found the net as Bournemouth beat Huddersfield Town 4-0.