Carver pays tribute to Gutierrez's dedication after emotional Magpies return

Ashley Young’s 89th-minute strike condemned the Magpies to their second home defeat under Carver’s control, but Gutierrez’s appearance as a 64th-minute substitute provided a positive slant to proceedings.

The Argentinian made his first Newcastle appearance since October 2013, despite only completing his successful battle against testicular cancer last November.

At the time of his chemotherapy treatment, it looked like he might never play senior football again, but having worked diligently to regain his fitness, Gutierrez was afforded a rapturous reception as he went on to the field.

“It was a great moment, and maybe I should have started with him because all of a sudden we brought him on and the crowd came alive,” said Carver. “He’s worked extremely hard behind the scenes to make this happen.

“He’s worked tirelessly in the gym to get back on the pitch, and to come back from what he’s come back from is remarkable really.

“The reception showed how much the fans think of him because the roof nearly came off the stadium. He was emotional after the game, and it was an emotional moment.”

At the time of Gutierrez’s introduction, it looked as though Newcastle were heading for what would have been a merited point.

However, a moment of late defensive sloppiness cost them, with Mehdi Abeid’s dreadful back-pass forcing Tim Krul into a hurried clearance that resulted in Young slotting the ball home.

Carver felt Newcastle should have been awarded a throw-in in the build up to the goal rather than Manchester United, and was even more furious with referee Anthony Taylor’s failure to award his side a first-half penalty.

Chris Smalling brought down Emmanuel Riviere in the tenth minute after the Frenchman nudged the ball beyond him, but Taylor allowed play to continue.

“It’s very frustrating, and I’m so disappointed for the guys,” said Carver. “For 89 minutes, I thought we were outstanding. We don’t have the same ability as Manchester United – they have world-class players – but we’ve matched them.

“It was a blatant penalty. Anthony Taylor is a human being, and he hasn’t given it. He only sees it once, and we see it time and time again. I saw it about five times at half-time, and it was definitely a penalty. He’s made a mistake, and I’m a bit frustrated about that.”

The game featured an unsavoury first-half incident in which Newcastle striker Papiss Cisse, who missed a glorious second-half chance, and Manchester United defender Jonny Evans appeared to spit at each other in the centre-circle.

Neither player was punished, but the Football Association could well issue some retrospective punishment after studying video footage of the incident. Last season, George Boyd was banned for three matches after a retrospective reassessment of a spit he directed at Joe Hart.

BT Sport pundit Steve McManaman described Cisse’s conduct as “disgusting”, while Paul Scholes claimed the Senegalese striker’s reaction to Evans’ initial spit, which might have been directed at the ground, was “unforgiveable”.

“I’m aware of it, but I haven’t seen the incident,” said Carver. “I just saw a fracas on the halfway line between the two players. The referee spoke to them, and that’s all I’ve seen. As far as I’m concerned, I need to have a look at it. The players didn’t mention it because I was talking to them about the game.”

Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal was delighted to finally experience a victory at St James’ Park, having suffered two previous defeats at the ground in European competition.

“I lost here twice as a coach of Barcelona and AZ Alkmaar,” said the Dutchman. “I lost 3-2 with Barcelona and 3-1 with AZ, so I knew it was a difficult ground. Ryan Giggs (assistant manager) said they would press us, and there would be a lot of pressure from the crowd.

“But we made the crowd quiet because we were dominating and I was very pleased with the performance. It was a very important result because it was a night when all of our rivals in our ‘rat race’ won.”