Controversial penalty decision denies United

Manchester United stumbled in their pursuit of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table after drawing 1-1 with Newcastle at Old Trafford. With 29 attempts on goal for Manchester United, a red card for Newcastle and only a 1-1 scoreline to show for it all at the final whistle, Saturday's match at Old Trafford was more than a little out of the ordinary.

With the home side having taken the lead following a fortunate but not undeserved goal for wizard Javier Hernandez, after the ball had bounced around the Magpies area, it looked like the champions were about to grind out a fourth straight 1-0 league win.  A controversial penalty then led to Newcastle's equaliser as Rio Ferdinand brought down Hatem Ben Arfa but appeared to win the ball. Demba Ba made the most of referee Michael Jones' decision with a spot kick to
make it 1-1. A Jonas Gutierrez sending off with little over 10 minutes remaining looked to damage the visitors' chances of securing a point but they held on despite a flurry of late United chances in which Hernandez saw a goal ruled out.

Sir Alex Ferguson is expected to escape punishment from the FA despite his stinging criticism in the post match interview that followed of linesman John Flynn for awarding Newcastle the controversial penalty at Old Trafford. "The problem is that the referees are full-time and the linesmen are not, and whether he ever gets a game again, the assistant referee, is not for me to decide but it was an absolutely shocking decision."

Swansea City 0-1 Manchester United

Man Utd moved back to within five points of Premier League leaders Man City after a hard-fought 1-0 win over Swansea City at the Liberty Stadium.Javier Hernandez's 11th minute strike gave the visitors all three points, with the Mexican slotting home after Ryan Giggs played him clean through after Rangel’s defensive error. Swansea started in brave fashion in front of their home fans but just over 10 minutes into the game, Rangel saw his pass intercepted at the edge of his own area, allowing Giggs to
surge into the box and square for Chicharito, who calmly lifted his effort into the net from close-range.

It was a tense 90 minutes in Wales, with both sides carving out a host of chances early on but United’s defence, which saw Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand partnered together once more, held firm against the pressure from the Swans, and the visitors saw a handful of chances to make the points secure go begging towards the end. The win keeps the Red Devils on the tail of fierce rivals City, who had cemented their place at the top of the table with a 3-1 win over Newcastle United earlier on Saturday.