Match Rewind: Which goal feast should we show?
After the break, the Reds stretched ahead like you’d imagine a team seeking a fourth consecutive title would. First Scholes drilled home Solskjaer’s low cut-back, and then the Norwegian directed a narrow close-range effort home. Substitute Jermain Defoe narrowed the visitors’ lead to one with just over 10 minutes remaining, but Beckham’s second of the day – a penalty with two minutes left – sealed a vital three points which restored United’s lead at the top of the table.
NEWCASTLE 2 UNITED 6 (2002/03)
The Magpies were in the mix at the top of the Premier League table before this clash, sitting six points behind Arsenal and United in third with a month to play. That was mainly due to their formidable home record: Sir Bobby Robson’s side came into the game having dropped just five league points at St James’ Park all season. That record was well and truly blown apart, however, as the Reds put in one of the finest away performances under Sir Alex, despite falling behind to Jermaine Jenas’s early rocket.
Our current manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer drew us level on 32 minutes, after latching onto Ryan Giggs’s through ball, and that sparked a remarkable spell of six goals in 26 minutes either side of half-time to leave the away fans in dreamland. Paul Scholes’ spectacular hat-trick, Giggs’s tap-in and Ruud van Nistelrooy’s penalty set up our biggest win on Tyneside for 96 years, with Shola Ameobi’s late strike proving to be the scantest of consolations for the Geordies.
