On Wednesday, Manchester United traveled to St. James' Park to lock horns with Newcastle United for round 28 of the English Premier League.
On 53 points, the Red Devils were keen on grabbing a precious away win as the race for a top four finish heats up. With Arsenal currently occupying third spot, and Liverpool hot on their heels, Manchester United's grip on fourth place came under threat.
Unsettling for the fans, the 20-time champions met with difficulty in every attempt to break down their opponents and sneak the ball into the back of the net. With the game locked at 0-0, the Magpies looked set for goalless draw and an extra point to their tally. That is until Ashley Young stepped up to the plate.
The 29-year-old Englishman left it late to score the winning goal, finding the back of the net in the 89th minute after a defensive blunder from Newcastle. This was the former Aston Villa ace's first English Premier League goal in a whopping 400 days.
FULL TIME! Ashley Young's late goal gives United 3 points! Download the LiveSoccerTV app: http://t.co/Atom7JLsjs pic.twitter.com/0ZWc1aDH5Q
— LiveSoccerTV.com (@LiveSoccerTV) March 4, 2015
400 - Ashley Young has scored his first Premier League goal for 400 days. Cruel.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) March 4, 2015
As usual, Twitter was quick to heap praise for Young. Check out some of the best tweets below.
My boys eeked out a win today. Thanks to @youngy18 great work mate. And @WayneRooney for that wonderful skill. @ManUtd
— Paul Macleod (@EnglishMacleod) March 4, 2015
Well done @youngy18!! Very, very important win. Thanks for your support as always. @ManUtd pic.twitter.com/p2cp77N944
— Juan Mata García (@juanmata8) March 4, 2015
@youngy18 deserves the goal for the way he has played so far this season. Well done lad ! #MUFC
— Marko (@markoo128) March 4, 2015
The passion shown by Ashley Young when he scored.One of those moments i'll never forget.great goal and win.
— Diane Dixon (@dizzydianajo1) March 4, 2015
Ashley Young has been consistently great this season. Fair play.
— Ben McCabe (@bernardmccabe) March 4, 2015
The passion of Ashley Young is something every player on the pitch should have. great man
— Angel di Maria 7 (@palushd8) March 4, 2015
Great to see Ashley Young channeling the spirit of Harry Kane to plunder a goal that cannot be explained using current scientific methods.
— Brenzie (@Brenzie) March 4, 2015
Whilst the Internet had kind words for Young, the same can't be said for their Argentine attacker Angel Di Maria. The club's mega-money summer signing put in a terrible performance before being removed by Louis Van Gaal in the 59th minute.
Considering the former Real Madrid man's £59.7m price tag, fans were not happy by his lackluster display, taking to Twitter to vent their disappointment in the 26-year-old.
Angel Di Maria today: 63.6% pass accuracy 1 chance created 0 shots 0 goals 0 assists £59.7m pic.twitter.com/74DADa66mg
— Football Funnys (@FootballFunnys) March 4, 2015
No greater footballing fraud than Di Maria right now
— Theo My Hero (@BobChifu) March 4, 2015
Angel Di Maria, gone missing, last seen 0140hrs after the CL final with SAF please help find him! Please RT pic.twitter.com/6J8Umv4QKu
— Danny Welbeck (@WelBeast) March 4, 2015
Di Maria cost £60m yet hasn't been criticised. Ozil misplaces 1 pass & suddenly "that's not what you expect from a 42 million pound player"
— RightInDebuchy (@EmanDaGoon) March 4, 2015
Ashley Young is playing like Angel Di Maria and Angel Di Maria is playing like Ashley Young... Football is broken.
— FootyHumour (@FootyHumour) March 4, 2015