The three reasons why Manchester United will finish below Newcastle

Newcastle United returned to third in the Premier League for the first time in two months following Sunday's 2-0 win over Manchester United.

Joe Willock and Callum Wilson scored the goals as the Magpies eased past the Red Devils at St James' Park on Sunday to get revenge for the League Cup final.

In doing so, they nudged their opponents back down to fourth, and Erik ten Hag's side will slip to fifth if Tottenham avoid defeat at Everton on Monday night.

Victory in the grudge match was a vital result in the race for the top four spots, which guarantee European qualification for next season.

Here, Sportsmail's CRAIG HOPE argues why Newcastle will finish above Manchester United this season and, with it, qualify for the Champions League…

CHARACTER…

Newcastle can lose games, but would never do so in the manner of Manchester United here. Not since the days of Steve Bruce has there been talk of dressing-room inquests and opponents 'wanting it more'.

Those, however, were the revelations emerging from the visiting camp on Sunday. Luke Shaw said words had been exchanged among the players, while Ten Hag agreed with his defender's assessment of Newcastle showing more desire.

Newcastle have lost three times in the Premier League this season - twice to Liverpool and once to Manchester City - but their application has never been questioned.

Commitment and work-rate are non-negotiable under Eddie Howe and the victorious post-match squad pictures, for which they have received criticism at times, are more so about a bigger picture of unity.

As they showed during the entirety of 2022, when such spirit gathers momentum it difficult to stop and three straight wins have restored belief at just the right time. Manchester, by contrast, played like strangers, again.

This is three league games on the spin without a goal, a run which began with the 7-0 defeat at Liverpool.

To see their players slope off towards the tunnel on full-time - only to be hauled back to applaud the visiting fans - was to witness a flawed and fragile mentality, and one that continues to show itself despite talk of progress under Ten Hag.

Such sentiment feels increasingly confused. There is only one of these teams United right now.

QUALITY…

Shaw said that Newcastle did not win the game on quality, but desire. He was wrong. For all of the above concerning Newcastle's exceptional personality traits, they also have better players in several areas.

Striker Wout Weghorst laboured through another hour, while fellow January arrival Marcel Sabitzer was outshone by each of the home side's three midfielders. Sabitzer is the man with a surname that sounds like a hangover cure, and Ten Hag certainly has a headache to nurse after this.

For Weghorst and Sabitzer in his side, read Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes for the hosts - they are simply superior in positions of key importance. It does not end there. Kieran Trippier or Diogo Dalot?

On this evidence, you'd also take Joe Willock ahead of Scott McTominay, and any of Newcastle's wingers instead of Antony, who played more like Cleopatra.

Ten Hag was also right when, last week, he hinted that Marcus Rashford would not play, for he was anonymous, despite overcoming injury to start. Without an on-song Rashford and the suspended Casemiro, this United side look mediocre at best.

SCHEDULE…

Newcastle suddenly have all bar one of their players available and less games to play than their rivals. At this juncture in their journey, they could not handle the mental and physical demands of the run that took them to the Carabao Cup final, where they were beaten by Manchester United in February.

Now, they have just one goal in front of them and that is a top-four finish. Howe won't admit as much, but to achieve that now would allow the club to push back significantly on the guardrails of FFP. Forget talk of it coming too soon, Newcastle cannot move quickly enough given the aspirations of the owners.

These next 11 matches represent a unique opportunity that may not present itself next season, when it comes to the prospect of a Champions League finish. Howe and the club's hierarchy know that, and the internal ambition will be to accelerate their progress by qualifying for the continent's premier competition.

Manchester, meanwhile, still have the FA Cup and Europa League to contend with, just at the time when their squad appears to have hit a wall.

To that end, you would not be backing them to finish above Newcastle now, and so it may be that a fourth-placed finish ahead of Spurs and Liverpool - or winning the Europa League - represents their best chance of a return to the Champions League.