Jose Mourinho reacts to a '˜beautiful' performance from Newcastle

A second-half goal from Matt Ritchie gave Rafa Benitez’s side a 1-0 win over Manchester United yesterday.

The result lifted the club up to 13th in the Premier League.

Newcastle fought tooth and nail to hold on to the lead after Ritchie scored in the 64th minute.

And Mourinho said: “First of all, Newcastle’s players and staff gave what they have and don’t have and that’s a beautiful thing.

“They came here to fight for a point, but they found themselves in a position of being 1-0 (up), and in that moment they went over all the limits of the effort, the sacrifice, of everything a manager likes to see in his team.

“I saw that in my team after the 1-0. I saw that desire to play and to try and go to the last second, which we did.

“I can imagine Benitez is more than pleased with the effort of his players.

“Were they lucky? Yes their were. Sometimes you attract that luck with your state of mind. After the 1-0, the Newcastle players fought for their lives, and that’s a beautiful thing in football.”

Ritchie’s goal came from a disputed free-kick conceded by a diving Chris Smalling.

Mourinho said: “No complaints.

“I don’t know if it’s a free-kick. What I know is we missed a challenge in the air and missed the second ball.”