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Lee Ryder

Kevin Keegan gets his wish, Newcastle United's 'special guest' and directors visit dressing room

Kevin Keegan got his wish as Newcastle United beat Manchester United at St James' Park on a day when many Geordie fans were "loving it" in the Premier League.

Wins against Man United have sometimes been hard to come by and with the scars from Wembley still fresh from 35 days ago, this felt like an important occasion for Newcastle. Keegan of course lit the touch paper on the rivalry between these two storied clubs in the 90s when he warned Alex Ferguson Newcastle were after "their title" - this was merely the latest chapter.

READ MORE: Newcastle United vs Manchester United - Highlights and reaction from St James' Park

Keegan would have been watching from afar for this one but would have admired the way Newcastle went about their business. Although, at one stage it felt like there could be a few ghosts from the past about to haunt the black and whites!

The infamous clash in 1995/96 had saw Newcastle dominate the first half against the Red Devils with Peter Schmeichel proving to be an unbeatable wall in front of the Gallowgate End. Like that day, Eddie Howe's Magpies came out all guns blazing and swamped the Man United goal with chances in the first half.

Those fears from Entertainers veterans - with Keith Gillespie one of the club's special guests - were allayed in the second half as Joe Willock and Callum Wilson found the breakthrough moments. As Alan Shearer stated later in could have been another 7-0 but Geordie fans settled for 2-0 and Keegan would have absolutely "love it" at St James'!

Directors congratulate Eddie Howe and the players

It was a rare sight to see Mike Ashley at St James' Park on a match day back in the day.

But co-owners Amanda Staveley and Mehrdad Ghodoussi never miss a game. After things had settled down the directors made their way to the dressing rooms and made it clear they were delighted with such a big win over Man United.

The ambition from the top is there for all to see. And Newcastle genuinely have a chance of doing something even those at the top didn't expect so soon.

There's only one Bruno...

The Gallowgate End roared in delight as Bruno Guimaraes put in another Champions League style performance. As Bruno skipped around his namesake Bruno Fernandes, fans chanted: "There's only one Bruno" from the Gallowgate End.

As he picked up the Sky Sports man of the match award it felt like he was getting back to the Bruno that first burst on to the scene. He sat deeper than he did in the first part of the season but still provided the cross that led to the opener.

Fans concerned about his future will be relieved to see him get Champions League football in order to help keep him on Tyneside. The way things are going, it feels that even Real Madrid might not be able to tempt him away from United.

Newcastle have beaten last season's points tally

It was at Turf Moor on the final day of the season last May that Newcastle edged on to 49 points. With 11 games to go they are already sitting on a nifty fifty.

It's estimated that Newcastle might need 70 points or more to get their Champions League place. Whether that turns out to be the case this season remains to be seen.

After going ahead of Man United into third, and with two games in hand over Spurs after tomorrow night regardless of their result at Everton, one thing is clear - Newcastle's fate is in their own hands.

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