Manchester United turned in their worst performance of the Michael Carrick era to lose 2-1 to 10-man Newcastle at St James' Park.
Michael Carrick's unbeaten run is over
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Michael Carrick spent many a happy day in his childhood on the terraces of St James' Park, watching Kevin Keegan's great entertainers at Newcastle. The stadium holds special memories for the Newcastle native, but this night will not be one of them.
The 44-year-old is usually the picture of serenity on the touchline, doing his best to present an image of calmness and composure to his team when they glance over during the madness and mayhem of Premier League games. But his body language on Wednesday night betrayed his emotions.
Carrick said earlier in his short reign as Manchester United's head coach that there was always a time and a place for bringing out the infamous Sir Alex Ferguson hairdryer, a treatment he would have seen firsthand on numerous occasions. It would be a surprise if these players hadn't had a blast when they returned to the away dressing room.
HEREHEREHEREHERE.
This was another night when everything looked to be falling into place for Carrick's United. For the third time in eight games, they faced a team that had a man sent off. When it looked like they would be behind at half-time, they conjured an equaliser well after Newcastle felt the whistle should have gone.
It looked like another of those nights when everything Carrick touches turns to gold. But they came out for the second half in a passive mood. A poor first-half performance this time carried on after the break and the man on the touchline looked short of answers, sending on all five substitutes to try and inject some energy into his side.
When William Osula scored a stunning 90th-minute winner, Carrick looked at the turf beneath his feet. Having stood in that familiar pose with his hands locked together behind his back for most of the night, he spent the closing stages with his arms folded out in front of him.
That is about as angry as Carrick gets in the technical area, but if you needed another clue about what he felt of his team's performance, it came at full-time. He marched over to the away end, clapped the supporters, and then headed straight to the tunnel. Not a word to a single United player, when previously he had shown warmth to them at the end of games, exchanging hugs and high fives. No more Mr Nice Guy.
United will certainly feel they missed an opportunity here. Liverpool lost on Tuesday night. Aston Villa lost on Wednesday. But then so did Carrick's side. They remain third, but this was the kind of night that could have been decisive in the race for Champions League football.
It certainly made Carrick's claim that he wanted his side to keep on winning and keep the pressure on the top two look foolhardy. They are back to looking over their shoulders.
How much of the blame should go to the head coach? This wasn't a good night for him, but it felt like a worse night for the players. It certainly exposed the squad's shortcomings. Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo struggled to go again physically and again it felt Bruno or bust. This time Fernandes didn't have the answers.
It had all felt like it would be different at the break. Carrick looked like the calmest man inside St James' Park as all hell broke loose towards the end of the first half.
The temperature reached boiling point in the final moments of the half, just as United had begun to gain a foothold, with Mainoo and Matheus Cunha forcing Aaron Ramsdale into saves and Bryan Mbeumo wasting an excellent chance.
First, Jacob Ramsey was sent off after being shown a second yellow for a dive while trying to take the ball past Senne Lammens. Within a couple of minutes, Newcastle did have a penalty, converted by Anthony Gordon after he had been fouled by Fernandes.
It felt like a critical mistake from the United captain, and from Casemiro, who gave the ball away in the build-up to the penalty, but it summed up their character that they combined to level the game. Newcastle were incensed that the Brazilian's header from Fernandes' free-kick came in the ninth minute of added time, when only three had been signalled, but by that stage it felt like everyone had stopped counting.
That goal should have been a turning point, a dagger to the heart of a shaken Newcastle side, but United emerged for the second half just as they had done the first. Again, they were loose in possession and failed to match the hosts' intensity.
It was hard to tell who had the man advantage and United did little to press it home. Too often, they were the ones doing the chasing and the firefighting. Carrick's passivity was being tested, with the head coach and Steve Holland trying to urge the players to raise the tempo.
It took until the final 20 minutes for the message to get through. Leny Yoro should have scored when he met Fernandes' cross, before Manuel Ugarte put a header onto the roof of the net. Joshua Zirkzee then forced Ramsdale into a sensational save.
Just as it looked like United might build enough momentum to find a winner, they were hit by a sucker punch. Osula skinned Tyrell Malacia and curled a brilliant left-footed finish into the corner. The unbeaten run is over.