The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Manchester United lose ground and Liverpool go third
Manchester United are 16 points adrift of Premier League leaders Manchester City after losing 1-0 to Newcastle at St James’ Park.
The Magpies moved out of the relegation zone thanks to a second-half strike from Matt Ritchie in the north-east.
Jose Mourinho has now failed to taste victory in any of his seven top-flight visits to Newcastle as his team lost their second successive away game, leaving them 16 points behind City with just 11 games remaining.
Mourinho told Sky Sports: “They fought like animals – and animal is a good word in football and I hope they take it as a compliment.
“The gods of football were with them, but they fought like animals. It wasn’t going to happen for us today.
“They fought for their points, and when they went in front they gave their lives to keep a clean sheet. I think it’s a beautiful way to win a football match.”
Newcastle’s victory pushed Southampton into the bottom three and they were unable to move up the table having lost 2-0 to Liverpool, who went above Tottenham into third.
Roberto Firmino scored his 20th goal of the season in the sixth minute having been teed up by Mohamed Salah, and the roles were reversed just before the interval when the Egyptian doubled the lead.
It meant ex-Saints defender Virgil van Dijk enjoyed a happy return to the south coast after his £75 million move to Liverpool last month.
In the afternoon’s early kickoff, Huddersfield ended an eightgame winless run in the Premier League with a 4-1 success over Bournemouth that lifted them out of the relegation zone.
David Wagner’s side had not won in the division since mid-December, and had lost all five of their fixtures in 2018, but Steve Mounie’s double ensured they emphatically ended that run.
Alex Pritchard opened the scoring before Junior Stanislas replied for the Cherries, with Mounie then netting either side of the interval and Rajiv van La Parra claiming a fourth in stoppage time.
Sergio Aguero hit four goals for Manchester City in a 5-1 demolition of Leicester on Saturday.
Raheem Sterling poked City into an early lead but Leicester – who brought on winger Riyad Mahrez in the second half for his first appearance since his failed move to the Etihad Stadium – levelled before the break thanks to in-form striker Jamie Vardy.
While creative midfielder Kevin de Bruyne excelled by assisting three of the five goals, the second half was almost all about Aguero and he restored the hosts’ lead minutes after the restart before adding two more to wrap up the points with his 12th treble in a City shirt.
Meanwhile, Harry Kane gave Spurs a 1-0 win over Arsenal in their north London derby at Wembley.