Goals: Faye 79' - Rooney 25', 80', Ronaldo 45', 56', Saha 90'

Manchester United moved to within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal with a thrilling 5-1 victory at struggling Newcastle.

Brilliant braces from Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, and an injury-time goal from former Magpie Louis Saha, saw Kevin Keegan's listless side crumble in the face of familiar pressure.

Having dipped below their normally impeccable standards at Lyon in midweek, the visitors were in no mood to allow three Premier League points to elude them at St James' Park.

And if the majority of Newcastle's eternally optimistic supporters filed into the stadium dreaming of a repeat of 1996 - when Kevin Keegan's original entertainers inflicted a 5-0 defeat on the Reds - then the realists among them feared a repeat of January's 6-0 reverse at Old Trafford.

Rooney, Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez formed a fearsome forward line and the inclusion of Nani added another attacking option on an afternoon which presented the visitors with an opportunity to capitalise on Arsenal's failure to take all three points at Birmingham City earlier in the day.

Newcastle: Given (Harper 46'), Beye, Taylor, Faye, N'Zogbia, Milner (Geremi 84'), Butt, Barton (Carroll 61'), Duff, Smith, Owen.

Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Vidic (Scholes 74'), Ferdinand, Evra (O'Shea 46'), Ronaldo (Saha 67'), Carrick, Fletcher, Nani, Rooney, Tevez.