Man United, Crystal Palace win but Chelsea frustrated by Saints

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's Manchester United made it four wins out of four in the Premier League on Wednesday, beating Newcastle to close the gap on fourth-placed Chelsea, who were held at home by Southampton, reports Agencies.

United have been transformed since their former striker replaced Jose Mourinho, scoring 12 goals in his first three games in temporary charge but were forced to dig deep to emerge with a 2-0 win against a disciplined Newcastle side at St James's Park.

The victory leaves them in sixth spot in the table with 38 points, just three behind Arsenal and six adrift of Chelsea.

Manchester United bossed possession but a resolute Newcastle defence kept clear-cut chances to a minimum, prompting Solskjaer to throw on Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez shortly after the hour mark.

The changes bore fruit immediately and the interim boss will be equally pleased that United managed just their third clean sheet of the season in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Jordan Ayew and Luka Milivojevic scored late to give Crystal Palace a 2-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Wednesday in the Premier League.

Palace had failed to score in two straight games since stunning Manchester City 3-2 on December 22, but Ayew finally ended the drought in the 83rd minute after Patrick Van Aanholt's mishit shot fell to him in the box.

In an astonishing game at Bournemouth, the home side shared six goals with Watford in a helter-skelter first half but there was no addition to the scoreline in the second half.