United march clear with win

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The Bulgarian clinched the points with a 56th-minute strike, but United had to come from behind to re-establish their advantage over Chelsea and Liverpool with a game in hand.

There was jubilation on Tyneside when, with just nine minutes gone, Peter Lovenkrands ended Edwin Van der Sar's record of not having conceded a league goal since November 8 after the keeper failed to cling on to Jonas Gutierrez's shot. But it took the visitors just 11 minutes to restore parity through Wayne Rooney.

Newcastle took the lead when Van der Sar failed to hold Jonas' shot as it leapt up off the sodden turf and Lovenkrands stabbed the rebound home before casting an anxious glance at referee Steve Bennett's assistant and only then beginning his celebrations.

It might have been 2-0 within four minutes when Obafemi Martins fired inches wide under pressure from Rio Ferdinand, with the Nigerian also forcing a good 31st-minute block from the England defender after Van der Sar had failed to deal with a Ryan Taylor corner.

However, by that point, United had made the most of their greater share of the possession to get themselves back on level terms in fine style.

Rooney, back in the side after recovering from a virus, turned superbly past Fabricio Coloccini on to John O'Shea's pass and blasted a left-foot shot past Steve Harper with the help of a deflection off Steven Taylor, although the defender's contribution was largely irrelevant.

Ryan Taylor slipped as he attempted to chest a deep ball back to Harper and Park got there first to square for Berbatov, who calmly slotted it into the empty net.