When reigning champions Manchester United arrived at St James' Park to face Newcastle United three years ago today, few people gave the hosts a chance of coming away with all three points.

Alan Pardew's side went into the game off the back of a convincing defeat to Liverpool and having only won one of their previous eight matches, conceding 16 goals in the process.

The visitors, meanwhile, were in the midst of a title race and, although they had been beaten by Blackburn on New Year's Eve, had scored 16 goals in four consecutive wins prior to that.

They came within inches of taking the lead in the early stages too, with Dimitar Berbatov seeing his deflected header come back off the post.

However, Newcastle survived the scare and went on to break the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark. Shola Ameobi flicked the ball on for Demba Ba, who hooked a fine volley past Anders Lindegaard for his 15th goal of the season.

Things got even better for the Magpies shortly after half time as Yohan Cabaye doubled their advantage in sensational fashion, firing a 30-yard free kick in off the crossbar.

A miserable day for the Red Devils was compounded right at the end of the match when Tim Krul's long kick saw Phil Jones get into a muddle, as the ball deflected off the defender's leg and past a helpless Lindegaard.

Newcastle climbed up to seventh with the victory, while the dropped points proved costly in the end for United. They fell three behind Manchester City in a title race that ultimately saw Sergio Aguero score in injury time on the final day to steal it from Sir Alex Ferguson's grasp.

Ferguson was left rueing an earlier missed opportunity for Wayne Rooney at St James' Park, telling reporters after the match: "We started reasonably well. The goalkeeper made a good save from Nani and we had a good chance when Wayne Rooney was through. If we'd taken it, we could have gone on to win the game."

Pardew, meanwhile, was delighted with his side's efforts during a famous win: "I couldn't ask for any more than I got from the players. They were absolutely brilliant and you have to remember when you play the champions, you need more than two performances and we certainly got that."

The Magpies went on to clinch a Europa League berth that season, finishing fifth thanks to a strong second half of the campaign that also included victories over Chelsea and Liverpool.