Newcastle 1-0 Burnley: Player ratings as Magpies finally secure first win of the season
Newcastle have finally won their first Premier League game of the season, beating Burnley by a single goal at St James’ Park after going 14 without victory prior to kick-off.
Magpies boss Eddie Howe will hope this will be the catalyst for an improved run, while Clarets counterpart Sean Dyche will be disappointed his team didn’t give a better account of themselves.
Callum Wilson was the hero of the day for Newcastle, getting the only goal late in the first half.
Neither side had done much to test the respective goalkeepers in the first period and it took an error for the breakthrough to come in the final few minutes before half-time, when Nick Pope crucially spilled a speculative lofted cross from the left.
As the ball ran away from the frantic Burley stopper, Wilson nipped in, created an angle for himself and fired clinically into the roof of the net, evading the efforts of the defender on the line.
Newcastle continued to rack up attempts on goal after the interval, mostly missing the target, but Pope partially made amends for his mistake by saving to deny Allan Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron to keep the deficit at just a single goal.
The lack of a second goal made Newcastle’s narrow lead a little precarious and they survived a late scare when Burnley substitute Jay Rodriguez put the ball in the net, only to be flagged offside.
The final whistle brought a huge sigh of relief at St James’ Park.
Newcastle player ratings
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Martin Dubravka (GK) - 6/10 - Only faced one shot on target throughout.
Javier Manquillo (RB) - 6/10 - Held his own without facing a direct threat.
Fabian Schar (CB) - 7/10 - Put pressure on Pope that led to the breakthrough, technically gets an assist for it.
Jamaal Lascelles (CB) - 7/10 - Back from suspension. Led well.
Jamal Lewis (LB) - 7/10 - Teasing ball into the box caused sufficient problems for Burnley to allow the Magpies to score.
2. Midfielders
Miguel Almiron (RM) - 7/10 - Had more shots than anyone else on the pitch and went close to scoring what would have been a killer second.
Jonjo Shelvey (CM) - 6/10 - Newcastle's most accurate passer.
Joe Willock (CM) - 6/10 - Made multiple key passes.
Allan Saint-Maximin (LM) - 6/10 - Didn't get running with the ball much and was dispossessed a lot.
3. Forwards
Joelinton (ST) - 7/10 - Made a nuisance of himself, winning several aerial battles and pressuring Burnley in possession.
Callum Wilson (ST) - 8/10 - Reacted quickest to the loose ball to clinically fire Newcastle into the lead at the end of the first half.
4. Substitutes
Federico Fernandez (CB) - 6/10 - Extra body at the back to see the game out.
Jacob Murphy (RM) - N/A - Stoppage time addition.
Burnley player ratings
5. Goalkeeper & defenders
Nick Pope (GK) - 5/10 - Will be disappointed to have spilled the ball under pressure, directly led to the opening goal. Made other saves after half-time to stop Newcastle extending that lead.
Matthew Lowton (RB) - 6/10 - Had to be alert to keep Saint-Maximin at bay.
Nathan Collins (CB) - 5/10 - Kept his place with Ben Mee unavailable. Took a yellow card in the second half for a cynical foul.
James Tarkowski (CB) - 5/10 - Restored to the lineup after missing out in midweek.
Charlie Taylor (LB) - 6/10 - Got forward a few times.
6. Midfielders
Johann Berg Gudmundsson (RM) - 6/10 - Tenacious out of possession, although not enough pressure on the cross for the opening goal. Also lost the ball a few times himself.
Ashley Westwood (CM) - 5/10 - Decent on the ball but didn't do much with it.
Josh Brownhill (CM) - 6/10 - Put himself about in midfield.
Dwight McNeil (LM) - 4/10 - Too safe and didn't manage a single dribble.
7. Forwards
Maxwel Cornet (ST) - 5/10 - Losing him to injury after only half an hour played was a blow to the Clarets.
Chris Wood (ST) - 5/10 - An aerial threat but lacked telling service and failed to muster even a single attempt at goal.
8. Substitutes
Matej Vydra (ST) - 4/10 - Saw so little of the ball he made no impact.
Connor Roberts (RB) - 6/10 - Like-for-like swap for Lowton.
Jay Rodriguez (ST) - 6/10 - Had the ball in the net but was offside.
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