Tyne, England

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson proudly declared that his team is now in best form after completing a 3-0 thumping of Newcastle United Sunday at Sports Direct Arena.

"It was a great result. To come here and win 3-0 against a very powerful and aggressive Newcastle you have to really perform," Ferguson said. "But today we were on top of our game.

"The concentration was terrific and the determination was there," added Ferguson.

The victory vaulted United to a tie with rival Manchester City for second place in the Premier League standings with 15 points apiece, four points behind Chelsea.

United opened a 2-0 lead, thanks to early headers by defenders Jonny Evans and Patrice Evra in the eighth and 15th minute, respectively.

Tom Cleverley sealed the victory with a spectacular curling effort in the 71st minute that elated Ferguson.

Ferguson admitted after the game that his side was pressured to win to avoid falling further behind Chelsea in the standings.

"I think there was pressure. You don't want to fall behind too far," he said.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said his team was punished for a slow start that allowed two early goals from Manchester United.

"We've conceded two from set-pieces and you can't give a team like Manchester United a two-goal lead. That's something we're going to have to cover and make sure we're better at next time," said Pardew, whose wards dropped to seventh place in the standings with nine points

Meanwhile, Steven Caulker and Aaron Lennon scored as Tottenham clinched its fourth straight victory with a 2-0 blanking of Aston Villa.

Caulker delivered his first goal for the club in the 58th minute before Lennon put the game away with a score in the 67th minute.

Before the game, Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas made a surprise decision to end goalkeeper Brad Friedel's run of 310 consecutive starts by giving Hugo Lloris his English top-flight debut.

The Frenchman did not disappoint, giving the Spurs' their first clean sheet of the season.

In other games, Southampton and Fulham battled to a 2-2 draw while the Liverpool-Stoke City encounter ended in a scoreless draw.