Chris Smalling takes a pasting from Man United fans after defeat at Newcastle

Manchester United's hopes of finishing second were rocked at St James' Park on Sunday afternoon.

Despite naming a strong side against relegation-threatened Newcastle, Jose Mourinho watched his side lose to a second half Matt Ritchie strike. While United's defending of the free-kick which saw Ritchie score the only goal of the game was shambolic enough, the manner in which it was conceded was equally as farcical. Chris Smalling, attempting to control a pass from Phil Jones, dived out of the way of Jonjo Shelvey as he took a heavy touch. Referee Craig Pawson was close enough to see the incident, booking the defender for a dive. From there, a diagonal ball was flighted into the United box, and an unmarked Ritchie was able to slot home the knockdown. Not for the first time in recent months, United fans aimed much of their criticism at Smalling. https://twitter.com/FullTimeDEVILS/status/962721653951287296 https://twitter.com/utdxtra/status/962723174768168962 https://twitter.com/LiamPaulCanning/status/962712593734471680 https://twitter.com/United_Webby/status/962720788930494464 https://twitter.com/hesham786/status/962713359169843200 https://twitter.com/Doc_Joshi/status/962717882084978689 https://twitter.com/JamesyCantona/status/962712904268177409 https://twitter.com/Johnludds/status/962714307615215616 United remain in second after the defeat on Tyneside, though the gap between them and Liverpool could be down to just two points after their game with Southampton later in the afternoon. Their next league game will see them host Chelsea towards the end of the month with Liverpool the next league visitors to Old Trafford after they face Crystal Palace away in early March.