WHEN Manchester United chief executive, Ed Woodward, promised to buy Jose Mourinho something from Italy, he splashed out £89m to sign Paul Pogba from Juventus. When Mike Ashley made the same pledge to Rafael Benitez earlier this week, he spent £8.95 on a plate of risotto marinara. As Benitez was no doubt cursing on Saturday night, you cannot play a bowl of rice and seafood in central midfield.

Manchester United might be a club supposedly in crisis, but these things are always relative. Sitting in a packed and passionate Old Trafford at the weekend, watching Mourinho bring on Alexis Sanchez to complete the kind of thrilling comeback that was once the trademark of his predecessor, Sir Alex Ferguson, it certainly didn’t feel like one of the grandest clubs in the country was on the brink of collapse.

No, as ever, the role of crisis club was still being filled by Newcastle United. Not so long ago, the Magpies took on Manchester United as equals. Kevin Keegan’s autobiography, rapturously received on Tyneside as a form of much-needed nostalgia, highlighted as much. Now, the clubs are poles apart, and while the national media might have whipped themselves into a state of hysteria discussing Mourinho’s future in the build-up to Saturday’s game, the fact Newcastle’s position one place off the foot of the table was barely even a footnote to their post-match reports says much for how far the North-East’s United have fallen.

It has reached the stage where Newcastle’s plight is barely deemed worthy of comment, and all the Happy Hour meals in the world are not going to change that. Nor the offer of a free two-week holiday if relegation can be avoided.

Benitez does not need the kind of meaningless platitudes that were offered by Ashley at his pizza party in Ponteland this week – he needs tangible and significant support when the transfer window reopens in January.

Newcastle’s attempts to hold on to a two-goal lead at the weekend were far from perfect, and Benitez can be justifiably criticised for allowing his side to drop so deep when a sense of panic set in during those fateful final 20 minutes. The Magpies’ senior players went missing, and while Manchester United deserve credit for the way in which they summoned the resolve to stage such a remarkable comeback, Newcastle’s fragility as they attempted to repel a red attacking wave was alarming.

Benitez might reflect that he should have tried to keep his side on the front foot, although the decision to replace both Kenedy and Yoshinori Muto was enforced through injury. Ultimately, though, the Newcastle boss can argue that he is operating from a position of entrenched and institutional weakness.

Mourinho could turn to Juan Mata and Sanchez in his hour of need, Benitez was forced to bring on Christian Atsu and Joselu. Comparisons to Manchester United are somewhat meaningless given the chasm that separates the ‘big six’ from the rest of the league, but Newcastle’s squad also lacks the depth exhibited by the likes of Brighton, Southampton and Watford, who the Magpies will have to beat once the Premier League programme resumes at the end of the international break.

Three points adrift of safety as things stand, Newcastle will have to limp through the next three months before Ashley has an opportunity to enact transformative change in the transfer window. If he fails to act then, his next meal with Benitez will surely be the final supper.

“I think everybody can see where we are at,” said the Newcastle boss. “It is not just Mike Ashley. Everybody can see that the team is working so hard and doing so many good things, but today we were playing against one of the top six, and you cannot compete against them player for player during 90 minutes. We have to do everything well as a team, and we did it. But when you make mistakes, they score and the game changes.

“I am pleased with my team and my players, and the way they try to do things every time, but we are talking about going up against Manchester United, a team in the top six, and it is completely different. They have to have seven players on the bench who can play in any national team - we do not have that.”

Not, however, that it looked that way for the opening hour. Newcastle were superb in the first half, and with their opponents in a state of complete disarray, the Magpies will not get many better chances to add to that cherished Old Trafford success secured by Yohan Cabaye in 2013.

That came in David Moyes’ dying days, and with Mourinho’s job seemingly on the line, it looked like Newcastle were about to land another knockout blow.

Unlike in the games against Chelsea and Manchester City, when damage limitation seemed to Benitez’s sole intention, the Spaniard clearly sensed a weakness in Manchester United and sent his team out to attack.

Ayoze Perez was pushed alongside Muto, whose energy and mobility were key factors in Newcastle’s early dominance, and with Kenedy forming what was effectively a front three, the visitors forged a flurry of first-half chances.

Two were converted, with Kenedy receiving Perez’s through ball before firing into the corner and Muto cushioning Jonjo Shelvey’s cross before spinning past Ashley Young to fire home, but others were missed, with David De Gea saving from both Shelvey and Muto.

Newcastle should have had a penalty when Young blocked Shelvey’s free-kick with his arm, and while Manchester United might also have been awarded a spot-kick when Muto handled from a corner, the mood would have markedly different if the hosts had fallen three goals behind.

As it was, they kicked off the second half still in touching distance, and while Nemanja Matic spurned a great opportunity when he blazed over, Mata started the comeback with an excellent free-kick.

Martin Dubravka staged a one-man show of resistance with fine saves from Marouane Fellaini and Chris Smalling, but Anthony Martial levelled things when a slick one-two with the increasingly-influential Pogba enabled him to drill home.

Mo Diame went close to restoring Newcastle’s lead with a deflected header that Romelu Lukaku cleared from the line, but the stage was set for a grandstand finale, and it arrived in the 90th minute. Young crossed from the right, and Sanchez rose highest to head home.

“I don’t know what to say,” said a still shell-shocked Perez. “It was a great performance and a very disappointing result. I thought we did a good job, but the truth is that at the end, we come away with nothing. And that is the most important thing.

“What is so frustrating is that we could not have been in a better position – 2-0 up at Old Trafford with not a lot of time left. We won’t have a better chance than that.

“But they pushed a lot and, at the end, it felt like they had four or five strikers on the pitch. It’s quite hard when you are facing that. Perhaps in certain situations, our understanding of the game has got to be better, but for so long we did a great job out there, dominating Manchester United.”