At the end of a day when Jonjo Shelvey really did look worthy of an England place, Paul Pogba appeared a mere mortal and Martin Dubravka shone on his debut in goal for Newcastle United two things remained unchanged for José Mourinho. Manchester United’s manager had still not won a Premier League game on Tyneside and his second-placed team continued to trail Manchester City by 16 points.

In marked contrast Rafael Benítez would hardly be human if he were not tempted to regard a hugely restorative win as potentially a season-altering moment. This timely reminder of Benítez’s coaching abilities at the expense of an often bothersome old rival represented much more than a rare moment in the sun during what has turned into a painful slog of a campaign: instead Matt Ritchie’s well‑taken second-half winner offered real hope that Newcastle can avoid relegation after all.

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Benítez’s players have a habit of starting well before self-destructing and they began as crisply as the weather. David De Gea was soon required to stretch out a hand and divert Shelvey’s goalbound shot, while Mohamed Diamé made dispossessing Nemanja Matic appear easy.

Yet not for the first time this season Newcastle could not quite convert their chances. With Islam Slimani, Benítez’s new Algeria striker borrowed from Leicester, failing to recover from a thigh strain in time for involvement, the overwhelming suspicion was that the home side were simply flattering to deceive before indulging in a late, by now almost habitual, surrender.

Maybe, just maybe, Mourinho’s players had invested too heavily in this theory. As the clock passed 30 minutes they were still to conjure a proper chance and Dubravka, on goalkeeping duty for the first time since arriving on loan from Sparta Prague, had not been called to arms. A big part of the reason for that was Shelvey’s excellence alongside Diamé in central midfield. The moment when Shelvey whisked the ball off Pogba’s toes proved emblematic of an afternoon when his passing looked capable of unhinging almost any defence.

Eventually, though, Matic woke up to the fact that he and Pogba were being upstaged and unleashed a matching riposte, expertly threading a pass between two defenders for Anthony Martial to run on to. Martial shot but Dubravka proved more than equal to the danger, spreading himself adroitly before tipping the effort to safety.

That opening arrived in the 36th minute, three minutes after Dubravka’s first significant involvement, namely another impressive save which pushed Jesse Lingard’s shot round a post following incisive approach work from Alexis Sánchez.

If Sánchez, deployed in a left-sided attacking role, showed off some superior touches, the biggest worry for Mourinho will surely have been Pogba’s lacklustre display, epitomised by much severely inhibited movement. Granted those clever feet did supply the odd classy pass but, overall, the Frenchman was far from his best. He will surely be expected to raise his game appreciably in southern Spain this week when United’s Champions League campaign resumes at Sevilla.

Benítez clearly believed Craig Pawson to be guilty of similar under-achievement, after the referee turned a blind eye to what looked a clear penalty occasioned by Chris Smalling’s unintelligent trip on Dwight Gayle. No foul was given and Newcastle’s manager seethed as Mourinho’s side escaped punishment before proceeding almost to score themselves as Sánchez created a chance for Romelu Lukaku, whose shot was deflected over the bar.

Early in the second half Lukaku, having a decent game, succeeded in heading in beyond Dubravka but that effort was rightly disallowed due to pushes from the centre‑forward and Smalling, whose own header across the box had created the opening.

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When Florian Lejeune, excelling at centre-half, performed wonders to block Sánchez’s goal-bound shot, Newcastle fans probably feared the imminent reprise of a recently familiar losing script.

In the event, though, Benítez’s team were about to score. After Smalling had been rightly booked for a ridiculous dive Shelvey’s swerving free-kick was headed down by Lejeune and cleverly backheeled into Ritchie’s path by Gayle. All that remained was for Ritchie to beat De Gea with a left-foot shot dispatched low into a corner of the net.

Perhaps noting Pogba had done nothing to subdue Lejeune’s role in the goal, Mourinho hauled him off as the ground echoed to the strains of Blaydon Races. There was still time for Dubravka to be required to save brilliantly from the substitute Michael Carrick but this time the Geordie choir were not destined to be silenced.