Matt Ritchie lifted the gloom on Tyneside with the winner in Newcastle United’s crucial 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday — their first three-point haul at home since October.
Newcastle had fallen into the bottom three before kickoff after Huddersfield Town’s earlier win, but they responded with a vibrant display capped by Ritchie’s 65th minute effort.
Newcastle’s first win over United for five years lifted them from 18th to 13th while Jose Mourinho’s second-placed United are now a remote 16 points behind local rivals Manchester City and looking over their shoulders at the teams behind them.
Huddersfield Town’s 4-1 home victory over Bournemouth earlier in the day meant Newcastle started their home clash against United in the Premier League’s bottom three.
Liverpool were too slick for a feeble Southampton as they condemned the south coast side to a place in the bottom three.
Salah punished a mistake and squared for Firmino to score in the seventh minute and the livewire Egyptian then stroked home the second before halftime after a snappy passing move.
United have 56 points, Liverpool 54 and Tottenham 52 with Chelsea on 50.
It is equally tight at the bottom where the so-called trap door is looking more like a revolving door.
Huddersfield escaped the bottom three on Sunday as they snapped a five-game losing sequence.
Alex Pritchard fired Huddersfield in front after seven minutes and although Junior Stanislas levelled, the hosts were ahead again before the break thanks to Steve Mounie’s 27th-minute header from Aaron Mooy’s delivery.
Beninese striker Mounie’s shot was deflected in by Steve Cook after 66 minutes and Rajiv van la Parra tucked away a stoppage time penalty to complete a satisfying afternoon for David Wagner’s side.
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