Manchester United continued there rich vein of form at home this season with a 1-0 win over Newcastle United thanks to an early second half goal from Juan Mata

Chances were thin on the ground in a cagey first half, as Newcastle's five-man midfield worked hard to keep their hosts quiet.
With Wayne Rooney suspended, Van Persie's return after his 3 match suspension was a welcome boost for Van Gaal and the Dutchman was expected to provide the spark in attack.
There was little inspiration in that department, however, and a tame Phil Jones shot from the edge of the area was the only time Krul had to make a save in the first half.

In fact it was Newcastle who had the best effort before the interval, when Daryl Janmaat found space to fire in a shot from the right of the area that was pushed away by David De Gea.
Manchester United looked more like their old selves at the start of the second half, when Shinji Kagawa tested Krul and RVP's header was only kept out by a combination of the post and Anita.

But Manchester United took the lead just after the hour mark when Ashley Young escaped down the right and found Juan Mata waiting to fire home from his pull-back.
And, for the third time on away from home this season, there was to be no Newcastle United comeback.

following the away loss to Manchester United, we only managed two more draws and Southampton and Burnley respectively which i see as 4 points thrown away

We now sit 8th in the Barclays Premier League after that disappointing mixture of resutls, January will be key for us as we play four very winnable matches which could shoot us right back in contention for Continental qualification

David Ginola had praise for Emanuel Riviere after the Newcastle United striker hit a hat-trick as West Brom were beaten 5-2 in the first leg of the Capital One Cup semi-final.
The French striker struck three times in the second half at the Hawthorns, with Haris Vuckic and Coloccini getting a goal apiece, to give Newcastle United a comfortable win

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Riviere has only scored 5 goals this season, despite only making a handful of appearances of appearances after joining from Monaco in the summer and has now eased the absence through injury of the club’s main striker, Siem De Jong

"Playing better than the way he did is not easy,” Ginola said. "He really played a complete game, not only because he scored three goals but because of his link with the midfielders.
"For me, it's not a surprise because I know the way he played in France for a lot of years and it's also important for Emanuel and Siem to play well together, because maybe in other games they have not played as well as they used to."

"In football it is never finished but of course this is an important step towards playing the final" Ginola, the United manager, said. "We are very near the first final, but it is very important to continue in all the competitions playing the way we did today, and playing the way we did today is more easy if you want to win something."

Manchester United who currently sit third in the Premier league face fellow Premier League side Newcastle United in the pick of next month's FA Cup third round ties after the duo were drawn against one another on Sunday.
Between them the clubs have won the FA Cup 17 times, although Manchester United have not lifted the trophy since 2003, while the last of Newcastle United's thirteen Cup finals was in 1999.

So far this season the clubs have met just once, with Manchester United enjoying a 1-0 Premier League win at Old Trafford thanks to a goal from Shinji kagawa.

United have won the FA Cup 11 times, with the last coming back in 2004.

The other all-Premier League ties pit Swansea against Sunderland, with Tottenham at home to Crystal Palace and West Brom welcome Everton to the Hawthorns.

FA Cup holders Arsenal, begin their defence against League One side Oldham Athletic while Manchester City play at home against Bradford City
Liverpool, who are currently struggling in the Premier League this season face Dagenham and Redbridge.

In an exhilarating FA Cup Clash both sides had their chances but it was the Red Devils who produced the better opportunities and took them with aplomb to win 2-1.
Newcastle United have looked to attack teams alot more under David Ginola and Clement Grenier could have put them in dreamland early on but he lost his nerve and shot straight at David De Gea.

Following that it was Manchester United who took the lead as Shinji Kagawa capitalised on a Tim Krul fumble to stab the ball home and put United 1-0 inside 10 minutes.

Ashley Young's pace and movement was causing the Newcastle United backline all sorts of problems and a nifty one-two with Cleverley put him through on goal. However, he shot straight at Tim Krul when a return pass to his English team-mate was the better option.

Credit to Newcastle, they never let their heads drop and Ben Arfa served a reminder of their threat when he fizzed an effort just wide of the far post.

There was no shortage of needle in this feisty affair and Jack Colback was fortunate not to get booked after a rash challenge on Darren Fletcher

Rooney again had another opportunity when he rounded Krul but the angle was too tight as he fired into the side netting.

But moments later United would double there lead misfortune when Mike Williamson dawdled with the ball on the halfway line and was robbed by Hernandez, With no defender in sight the striker raced clear and delicately lofted the ball over Krul on 35 minutes.

Newcastle had a couple of penalty shouts turned down late on as Rafael took down Ayoze Perez and in truth, they did not deserve a way back into the game.

There was some worry late on in the first half as Moussa Sissoko pulled one back after some great linkup play with Cabella to poke the ball past David De Gea.

Manchester United dominated the second half with chance after chance but couldnt find that third goal that would kill of Newcastle, but it wouldnt matter though as they secured a 2-1 win and seal progression to the next round

Newcastle United's plans to extend St James Park capacity by more than 7,000 seats are set to get the green light.
United had plotted to add 3,500 on either side on the stadium plus a few hundred more in the main stand.

The plans were already submitted to the city's council planning commission and a report released on Thursday recommended that they are approved. If the building work goes ahead, work will begin at season's end

The report states that 160 temporary jobs will be created as well as more than 110 extra match-day staff being required in the larger St James Park, some of which will be available to the local residents.
'The proposal will create job opportunities, some of which will be available for local residents and business, during the construction and operation of the expanded stadium. In addition, there is an opportunity to provide improved access to the facilities at the stadium for local residents as part of improvements to wellbeing and health.'