Newcastle moved up to sixth in the Premier League with a comfortable win over a disappointing Burnley side.
The Clarets, who were well below par particularly in the first half are now 19th in the table, after losing their opening three games in the top flight for the first time since 1927-28.
Allan Saint-Maximin opened the scoring for the hosts with a low drive into the bottom right corner.
While Burnley rallied and levelled via Ashley Westwood’s superb volley into the same corner, Newcastle quickly wrestled back control of the game.
Saint-Maximin’s purposeful run down the right gave Callum Wilson a tap-in.
And the forward added his second – and Newcastle’s third – from a penalty after Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope fouled Ryan Fraser after miscontrolling James Tarkowski’s backpass.
Nightmare night for Pope
It was a difficult evening for Burnley despite the return of Tarkowski in defence – making his first Premier League start of the campaign following a toe injury.
The pace and power of Joelinton and Wilson caused them problems throughout and two early misjudgements by Pope seemed to spark a nervousness in front of him.
The twice-capped England goalkeeper ought to have been punished after allowing Wilson to charge down an attempted clearance in the opening minutes and was also lucky to escape without conceding moments later – charging out of his area and watching as the forward skipped clear of him.
Kevin Long’s misplaced pass out of defence put further pressure on the visitors, who were grateful to see former player Jeff Hendrick skew wide from a good position just before the break.
There were moments of promise for Burnley in attack. Dwight McNeil’s fizzing drive brought a fine save from home goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who also did well to tip Chris Wood’s header to safety.
Fast as lightning 😳⚡️#NUFC pic.twitter.com/fHcqlAdMl7
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC) October 3, 2020
And while Sean Dyche’s side played with considerably more intensity in the second half and scored a superb goal, their confidence appeared badly dented when Wilson re-established Newcastle’s lead.
Pope’s final error just compounded a dreadful night and their pointless start.
Saint-Maximin’s magic
Newcastle had won just one of their past eight home league games prior to Burnley’s arrival at St James’ Park.
And apart from a 20-minute spell after the break there was enough in what was an otherwise commanding performance to cheer manager Steve Bruce.
Wilson has now scored four goals in his four Premier League appearances for the club and appears worth every penny of the £20m the Magpies paid for him.
Jonjo Shelvey’s scheming was a feature of their play, with the midfielder making more passes than any other Newcastle player and driving his side forward at every opportunity.
And in Saint-Maximin, Bruce had arguably the game’s outstanding player at his disposal.
Despite being closely marked and on the end of a few crunching Phil Bardsley challenges, the 23-year-old French winger was unplayable at times.
Returning from a three-game absence after an ankle injury, he latched on to Wilson’s touch to sweep in a delicious opening goal.
And then with Burnley threatening to take control, he outmuscled McNeil and accelerated away from Charlie Taylor before supplying Wilson with the easiest of finishes.
However, one concern for Bruce will be that the Frenchman and Swiss defender Fabian Schar both had to be substituted with injuries.
‘We tried to be more expansive’ – what they said
Newcastle boss Steve Bruce told BBC Match of the Day: “I am delighted for the players. We’ve all had our fair share of criticism this week, maybe rightly so.
“Tonight we have hopefully quietened a few for a while anyway. We have tried to change and be more expansive. It goes up and down so quickly – that’s Newcastle.
“If we can keep Allan Saint-Maximin fit he will get people off their seats, he can do things that other people can’t. He is explosive. He is a goalscorer and a threat.
“I’ve known Phil Bardsley since he was 12 so I’m not shocked that he’s had a few kicks at him.”
Burnley boss Sean Dyche: “Allan Saint-Maximin? He was a handful, well done him. I’m really pleased for him.
“On a night like tonight Nick Pope should just put his foot through it, he knows that but he’s a top keeper.
“We have still got four important players missing, we have a few days off now and then we will work very hard. When everyone is fit we have got a good group. It looks different when they are all back.”
Wilson emulates Ferdinand – the stats
Newcastle enjoyed their first home league win in six games (D2 L3), since beating Sheffield United 3-0 in June.
Burnley have begun a league campaign with three straight defeats for the first time since 2003-04 in the second tier, while the last time they did so in the top flight was in 1927-28.
Newcastle are unbeaten in their past eight home league games against Burnley (W4 D4), including all five meetings in the Premier League (W2 D3).
Burnley have lost back-to-back away Premier League games after losing just one of their eight on the road before that (W5 D2).
Callum Wilson is the first player to score as many as four goals in his first four Premier League appearances for Newcastle since Les Ferdinand in 1995-96.
Ashley Westwood became the eighth player to hit the 100-game mark in the Premier League for Burnley, and marked the milestone with his first goal in 15 top-flight appearances.
What’s next?
Following the international break, Newcastle welcome Manchester United to St James’ Park in the Premier League on Saturday, 17 October (15:00 BST).
Burnley travel to West Brom on the same day and also kick-off at 15:00.
This article was previously published on BBC Sport
