Newcastle United - without the guidance of manager Eddie Howe - thumped Manchester United 4-1 at St James' Park to boost their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Sandro Tonali deservedly gave the Magpies the lead, but they would be pegged back by a swift counter-attack finished by Alejandro Garnacho. In the second half, Newcastle were not going to be outdone.
Harvey Barnes scored a classy brace and captain Bruno Guimaraes then added gloss to the score-line - which was richly deserved. Newcastle now sit fourth in the Premier League table, a point above Manchester City in fifth place and a whopping 18 points ahead of their Sunday afternoon opponents.
The Chronicle has now taken a closer look at how the national media reacted to that stunning victory over Ruben Amorim's side - and the consensus was clear;
The Times
Northern sports correspondent Martin Hardy unsurprisingly focused his piece on the Reds' frailties, but spared some time to praise the Magpies. "That Newcastle are giving everything to reach the Champions League and Amorim is prioritising a second leg quarter-final in the Europa League, when United face Lyon on Thursday, said much for their decline," he wrote in The Times.
"It had been 94 years since Newcastle completed a top-flight league double over Manchester United, adding this victory to their 2-0 win at Old Trafford at the end of last year. Newcastle were miles better that night, too.
"If there was to be a fillip this weekend for his opposite number, the Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe, who remains in hospital, then it could not have been delivered much more emphatically by his players. He may have been absent, but his presence and the intensity he has installed in a team he took over almost three-and-a-half years ago were hallmarks of a display that blew Manchester United away."
The Athletic
Journalists Chris Waugh and George Caulkin focused their efforts on praising the Magpies and delivered a brutal verdict on the match. "It was all so straightforward," they mused in The Athletic.
"With Eddie Howe in hospital, Newcastle United cruised through the gears at St James' Park, swatting aside an old nemesis with minimal fuss. Their first league double over Manchester United for 94 years was the best possible tribute to an ailing head coach who has done so much to strip angst from the club's psyche, but it was also their 2025 in a nutshell; they stuck to the plan, they got the job done, they made history."
The Mirror
Chief football writer John Cross - for our sister newspaper The Mirror - was highly complimentary about the difference between the two clubs. "They are two Uniteds heading in very different directions," he concluded.
"Newcastle were rampant and, if the Carabao Cup was not enough, they are now in pole position to get into the Champions League places. They [Manchester United] were simply blown away by Newcastle and, even without their manager Eddie Howe, who was absent and in hospital through illness, the Toon Army ripped the visitors to shreds.
"Newcastle were terrific, but they were given an open invitation by the visitors' defence. Newcastle are now up to fourth, a point behind third-placed Nottingham Forest with a game-in-hand, as they prepare to face Crystal Palace at St James' Park on Wednesday night.
"No-one will fancy coming here right now."
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