83 min: Cunha dances his way down the inside-left channel and flicks a clever ball back into the road of Fernandes, who aims a first-time effort towards the top right. Always high and wide, but not by a huge distance. That would have been a lovely goal.

81 min: … and now Dalot pulls Gordon’s shirt. Gordon, who was shielding the ball near his own corner flag, takes the opportunity to go down and eat up some clock. “Manchester United, are playing with a man extra, let’s not forget,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “Although, in the eyes of all Toon fans, that man is Peter Bankes.”

79 min: Tonali swings the free kick in from the left. Lammens punches clear with confidence, under some pressure as well. Manchester United counter. Cunha goes past Trippier on the left and goes over. The referee books the Newcastle captain, who insists there was no contact, and tells it as he sees it to his opponent. An edge developing again as we move towards Business Time.

78 min: Play doesn’t restart immediately, as Ramsdale stays down stretching his leg. He eventually gets back up and takes his goal kick, after which Willock draws a foul from Dalot down the left. A free kick in a dangerous position. The home side load the Manchester United box.

77 min: Diallo and Zirkzee replace Mainoo and Mbeumo.

76 min: … but Manchester United come again, through Fernandes again. He curls in from the right. Ugarte loops a header over Ramsdale but also over the bar. For the first time in a long while, the visitors are getting on top.

75 min: Ugarte barrels after a long pass down the right. Burn telescopes a long leg to divert the ball out for a corner, then celebrates with his fans in the modern style. The set piece is half cleared, but wedged back in from the left-hand edge of the D by Fernandes, whose influence is growing. Yoro should score from six yards, but heads straight at Ramsdale, who nevertheless parries well. Newcastle clear.

73 min: Manchester United apply some pressure for the first time in the half. Mbeumo and Dalot take half-swipes at a loose ball in the Newcastle box; Fernandes swings a ball in from the left that Sesko fails to read. But that’s better from the visitors.

71 min: The xG is now 1.8 to 0.64.

70 min: An awful lot of space for Mazraoui, 25 yards out. He has to take a shot. Which he eventually does, but only after thinking about things for far too long. Blocked.

68 min: According to TNT Sports, Michael Carrick is demanding his players take it up a notch. They’ve certainly been curiously ponderous in this second half.

66 min: From the left, Tonali sends the corner long. Everyone charges to the near post … except Gordon, who has peeled off, and sticks out a leg, unchallenged, six yards out. But he can’t keep the shot on target. That would have been a lovely set-piece goal. It was a very clever move. Note to Arne: set plays can be beautiful too.

65 min: Tonali sends a lovely dipping ball to the far stick. The ball brushes Dalot and flies out for a corner. Gordon claims handball and a penalty … and VAR checks … then VAR clears. It was never a spot kick.

64 min: Elanga dribbles in from the right and is scythed down just outside the box by Mazraoui, who goes into the book … after a fashion. Peter Bankes, you old tease. A free kick in a dangerous position. Tonali to send it in.

63 min: This second half hasn’t quite taken off as expected. Newcastle will be more than happy about that. Manchester United have let the pace drop, and haven’t had a shot on target since the restart.

61 min: Manchester United make a double change, replacing Casemiro and Shaw with Ugarte and Dalot.

60 min: Fernandes slides a cute ball down the inside-left channel for Mbeumo, who momentarily finds himself in a bit of space by the left-hand edge of the six-yard box. But he can’t get a shot away, and eventually squirts the ball out for a goal kick. He should have done better. What a defence-splitter from Manchester United’s captain, though.

58 min: Mbeumo swivel-hacks the corner clear. But the ball comes straight back at Manchester United, and Maguire slices into touch. This is a staunch start to the half by Newcastle in the circumstances, even if they’ve not tested Lammens.

57 min: Willock scampers down the right and wins a corner off Mainoo, who was forced into a last-ditch block tackle. Trippier wanders over to take the set piece.

55 min: As the ball sails into the box, Burn idiotically shoves Maguire in the back. The whistle goes to release the pressure on Manchester United. What was the point? A good opportunity for the ten men to get an effort on goal is needlessly thrown away.

54 min: Casemiro clips Joelinton from behind, 35 yards out. The home fans bay for a yellow card. The referee resists. Trippier prepares to swing the free kick into the mixer.

53 min: Gordon makes himself a little pocket of space just to the right of the Manchester United D. He zips a shot towards the bottom right, but Lammens is behind it all the way. Nowhere near enough power to surprise the keeper.

51 min: Cunha has the opportunity to release Fernandes into the Toon box down the left. He then hesitates before rolling a dismal pass out for a goal kick. The home fans in slightly better mood having witnessed that.

50 min: Mazraoui skittles Gordon on the halfway line. The referee pauses before blowing for the free kick, not helping the collective mood in the stadium.

48 min: Mbeumo sprays a poor cross out of play from the right. Goal kick.

47 min: A scrappy start to the half. Manchester United seeing more of the ball, setting what may be a pattern as 11 men take on ten.

Newcastle get the ball rolling for the second half. St James’ Park on a rolling boil. One way or another, this is going to be interesting.

Manchester United, then the referee, emerge from the tunnel to boos. Newcastle are going to swap out Barnes for Willock.

On TNT Sports, both pundits, Shay Given and Owen Hargreaves, think the second yellow shown to Jacob Ramsey was “harsh”. The former thinks there might have been a little bit of contact; the latter doesn’t, and notes that the player taking a step or two after passing the keeper was the deciding factor, but still isn’t sold on the idea of simulation. Other views will be available on the internet, as we can illustrate by dipping into our half-time postbag …

“Not sure Ramsay did anything to ‘claim’ a penalty, Scott - bit misleading, that” – Mark Robertson

“That was a clear dive from Ramsey. Correct, and brave decision from the referee” – Joshua Keeling

… and as for the equaliser …

“There was nearly ten minutes of additional time played for three given, with not an inordinate amount of delay between VAR, the penalty and the celebrations. I was expecting the whistle to go for the break when Cunha had the ball at the halfway line, ninety-odd seconds before the freekick. We got a long old stretch at the end and I thinkin Newcastle fans are entitled to be absolutely livid over it” – Christopher Faherty

It’s going to be an entertaining second half.

The xG after that whirlwind end to the first half: Newcastle United 1.25, Manchester United 0.64.

Half-time ad break. The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?

45 min +7: Play goes on and on. Gordon and Barnes nearly open Manchester United up down the left. Then Hall brings down Mazraoui on the right. And from the free kick …

45 min: Speaking of that composure … Cunha has a shot from the left-hand edge of the Newcastle D. Ramsdale parries. The rebound clanks off Burn, and tees up Mbeumo, who has to score … but blazes wildly into the Gallowgate!

44 min: Mainoo gives the ball away. Then Joelinton passes out for a throw. Composure please, gentlemen.

42 min: … and to further illustrate that point, Mainoo, just to the right of the Newcastle D, curls a first-time outswinger towards the top left. Ramsdale claws it out. Great play all around.

41 min: Elanga gets in ahead of Shaw down the right. His low cross is flicked softly by Barnes, allowing Lammens an easy claim at the near post. Had Barnes left it, Burn might have connected, six yards out. Everything in this game so far has been nearly as opposed to just so.

39 min: Joelinton sticks an arm around Cunha, who was going nowhere in particular deep in his own half, and hauls him back. It’s a no-brainer of a booking. Joelinton sticks both hands in the air and applauds the referee sarcastically, and wants to watch himself. Tonali tells him to pack it in. Then Burn shoulders Sesko on the edge of the Newcastle box. Strangled calls for a penalty, but come on. When play moves on, Shaw hauls back Elanga and also goes into the book. Sixty seconds of the hottest admin-infused action!

37 min: Mbeumo is rightly booked for taking down an in-flight Hall.

36 min: That was nearly one of the great counter-attacks. No wonder Gordon was fuming. He and Elanga had done so well to bust Newcastle out of defence and into attack.

34 min: Fernandes’ delivery isn’t all that. Elanga sends Gordon into space on the counter down the right. Gordon makes an immediate switch to Joelinton on the other flank. Joelinton powers towards the Manchester United box. He should return the ball to Gordon, but opts for a long-distance shot instead. He sends it a long distance over the bar. Many pints of hot steam pour out of Gordon’s lugs.

33 min: Thiaw stands on Cunha’s toe, 30 yards from the Newcastle goal, just to the right of centre. He took a fair bit of the rest of Cunha, too, and is fortunate not to go into the book. Fernandes to take the free kick.

31 min: Newcastle are beginning to struggle with Manchester United’s press. Their visits into enemy territory getting more infrequent.

29 min: Joelinton and Gordon nearly open Manchester United up down the middle, pinging passes at pace, but Yoro reads the danger to break up the move. Yoro doing his mate Mainoo a favour there, as the Manchester United midfielder hadn’t covered himself in glory earlier in the move.

28 min: Mbeumo tears past Hall down the right. His cross is deflected out … or is it? Burn heads back upfield from the byline. Manchester United are awarded the corner anyway. It looked like Burn got there just in time, but the visitors get the decision. It’s probably for the best that the corner that follows leads to another corner that leads to nothing.

26 min: Casemiro spins Ramsey near the centre circle, and is hauled back cynically for his trouble. A bit of a needless challenge that earns the Newcastle midfielder a deserved booking.

24 min: Fernandes chips a ball in from the right. Sesko makes a proper nuisance of himself, six yards out, and for a split second looks to have got the ball under control, preparing to slam home. But Ramsdale collects, and turns out Sesko had fouled Tonali anyway. Messy from Newcastle’s perspective, though.

23 min: Trippier barges into the back of Cunha, and cops a backheel in the face as the pair fall. Trippier looks unhappy, but there didn’t appear any malice in it.

22 min: A couple of speculative long balls down the Newcastle right flank. Maguire and Lammens deal with them without too much fuss. Meanwhile Kári Tulinius arches an eyebrow: “Early doors, obviously, but based on the those first 20 minutes it would be hard to correctly discern which team was the one drifting towards a disappointing season, and which was being talked up as outside title contenders.”

20 min: Fernandes and Mazraoui combine in making a meal of clearing a loose ball in the Manchester United box. Tonali meets it on the edge of the area, and slices a volley wide left. This match is currently played at a hectic pace, with accuracy at a premium. If you didn’t know any better, you’d suspect every player of ingesting five double espressos just before kick-off.

18 min: Maguire barges into the back of Gordon on the halfway line. Forearm across nape of neck. The free kick’s launched long. Burn crumps his elbow into Shaw’s startled coupon. Another free kick, and a couple of players, one on each side, rather fortunate not to go into the book there.

16 min: Newcastle, who have lost their last three Premier League games here at SJP, will be pleased with this start. They’ve enjoyed 61 percent of possession so far.

14 min: Barnes finds Joeliniton down the inside-left channel. Joelinton can’t get the ball under control, but makes enough of a nuisance of himself to force the ball infield for Gordon, who flicks on for Barnes. In a pocket of space just to the left of the D, Barnes opens his body and aims for the top right. Just too high, just too far wide. Lammens wasn’t getting there had it been on target.

13 min: Barnes advances down the left but can’t get past Yoro. Throw, though. Hall takes it short, and the ball’s sent into the mixer. Yoro’s clearing header isn’t all that, and Elanga meets the dropping ball on the right-hand edge of the D. He volleys harmlessly wide right. It’s been an entertaining start, with both teams showing plenty of attacking intent.

11 min: After a slow start, Manchester United are beginning to work their way into the game. Cunha sends a dangerous ball into the Newcastle box from the left, but Sesko isn’t on point to connect. Hall clears with a sigh of relief.

9 min: Barnes dribbles into the Manchester United box from the left. He attempts a one-two with Elanga. The ball brushes Mazraoui’s chest. A shout for a penalty, but like the free kick claim earlier, it’s more fan-led than anything from the players. “Hahahahaha,” splutters Chris Paraskevas between mouthfuls of bread and cured pork. “Peter Oh showing an innate understanding of what a ‘Work Breakfast’ entails in Australia. Someone give that man his Permanent Residency / Citizenship: he just past the Secret Test.”

7 min: Sesko backflicks infield from the left touchline. A cute touch that releases Fernandes into space. Fernandes shuttles the ball on for Cunha, who flays wildly into the stand despite having time and space just in front of the Toon box. A good chance.

6 min: Newcastle are first to everything right now. St James’ Park is bouncing. Local lad Michael Carrick looks unmoved.

5 min: A bit of space for Gordon down the right but there’s nobody in the middle to cross to, and in trying to win a corner off Maguire, the ball simply squirts through to Lammens, who snaffles.

3 min: Hall bursts into the box down the left. He crosses long. Trippier dinks back in from the right. Lammens and Yoro leave the ball to each other, and it loops over the pair and off the left post! Manchester United clear, and they’ve got away with a big misdjugment there. It would have been a complete fluke on Trippier’s part, mind.

2 min: Newcastle get onto the front foot immediately. Hall bombs down the left; Trippier probes down the right. Shaw looks to have tugged Trippier back, but the referee waves play on. Not too much in the way of fume from the players, but the fans aren’t happy that’s for sure.

Manchester United get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Gallowgate in this first half.

The teams are out! Newcastle in black and white stripes, Manchester United in red. Everyone as they should be, looking nice and dandy. Mark Knopfler’s magnum opus tootles in the background, and we’ll be off in a couple of minutes. In the meantime, Peter Oh has a pairing suggestion: “I assume that Chris Paraskevas isn’t having beer with his bacon-and-egg sandwich, given it’s a work breakfast. If he’s looking for a drink recommendation, may I remind him of the adage ‘if life gives you Lammens, make lemonade’.”

Pre-match postbag. “It’s a mad, mad, mad, mad world when people are starting to talk about this version of Manchester United as the outsider making a late gallop on the outside of the title race. Yet if they want proof that a big lead can be blown at this time of the year, they only have to look at how their opponents today did that famous Devon Loch back in the late 90s. Not so sure how many people would ‘love it!’ if somehow Carrick’s mob actually prevailed, however” – Justin Kavanagh

“Just as the owners of Newcastle United have not lived up to expectations, nor has Eddie Howe ... and for the same reason, they will not fire him” – Jeff Sax

“Because this is an 8.15pm kick off (7.15am here in Australia) it means I’m shaping up to be late to the work breakfast function. My boss’s final words at our last meeting were: ‘We can’t have a situation where people are turning up to meetings literally one minute before they start.’ The fact that she stared at me to punctuate the sentence suggests I shouldn’t bother with the excuses today. But if I do get sacked, at least there’s the usual Bacon and Egg roll on offer, and I can fully focus on our Champions League campaign” – Chris Paraskevas

Michael Carrick speaks to TNT. “It’s always a challenging game when we come here … and always a good game … the type of atmosphere and environment you want to be involved in … we have to be at our best tonight to get the win … the boys are looking forward to it … on a good run … in good shape … we know this place can throw up many things so we have to be ready for that … we have prepared … we will try to be ready … we’ve put ourselves in a good position … we want to try to capitalise it moving forward.”

A reminder of where both teams lie going into tonight’s five-match card. Manchester United are third and have a chance to consolidate their already-serious claim for Champions League football next season. Or … could they? … they couldn’t, could they? “You can’t rule anything out in football, but we’ve got to be realistic,” said Michael Carrick upon being asked whether a late surge for the title was a possibility. “We’ve just got to try and keep winning games and see.” Newcastle by contrast are simply hoping to nudge their way back into the top half of the table, though that’s not within reach tonight. One step at a time.

Eddie Howe speaks to TNT Sports. “It’s always a difficult decision with the goalkeepers … we have two outstanding players for that position … I’ve decided to make a change … hopefully [Aaron Ramsdale] comes in and does well … our home form for a long time has been really strong … [the recent bad form] is not a nice feeling … we want to make this place the fortress that it has been again … the crowd have been magnificent … this is on us as a team … we’ve made too many mistakes … we’re looking to put that right tonight … tonight and the game at the weekend [in the FA Cup against Manchester City] are so important … I think we can do it … football changes really quickly … results haven’t aligned with performances … we’re scoring goals which is a great thing … we just need to get tighter at the back … [Manchester United] have outstanding players … but we’ve got players who can hurt them … it could be quite open.”

Newcastle make two changes to their starting XI following their 3-2 home defeat to Everton. Nick Pope, an error or two in him of late, loses his place in goal to Aaron Ramsdale, while Harvey Barnes comes in for the ill Nick Woltemade.

Manchester United make just one change to their first XI after their 2-1 win over Crystal Palace. Noussair Mazraoui replaces Diogo Dalot, who drops to the bench.