NEWCASTLE, England (Reuters) -Miguel Almiron and Alexander Isak struck as Newcastle United comfortably beat Burnley 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday to claim a third straight win in all competitions.
While the victory may not live as long in the memory as Newcastle’s 8-0 thrashing of Sheffield United or their 1-0 League Cup win over Manchester City, manager Eddie Howe will be pleased with his side’s performance ahead of a Champions League clash against Paris St Germain.
“We have so many games now so you don’t have too much time to enjoy. It’s always onto the next and now we have PSG on Wednesday. We’ll enjoy the win tonight but tomorrow it’s back to work,” Isak said.
“I think the lads are buzzing and the fans and the whole city to be playing the first Champions League game back at St James’ Park in a long time. Hopefully its going to be a great night for us.”
Burnley, looking for their first league win of the campaign, started strongly and carved out the first chance when Luca Koleosho’s cross found Zeki Amdouni, whose powerful effort was hit straight at Newcastle keeper Nick Pope.
Almiron opened the scoring in the 14th minute, cutting in onto his left foot and firing a brilliant dipping shot into the top corner after Kieran Trippier won back possession deep in Burnley’s half.
The home side spurned several chances to extend their lead.
A heavy touch from Isak allowed James Trafford to rush off the line and deny the Swedish forward in the 27th minute, before the Burnley keeper kept out a diving header from Elliot Anderson.
Trafford also got down well to save Anderson’s low shot from distance before the interval.
In the second half, Newcastle kept up the pressure and Trippier twice floated inviting crosses into Burnley’s penalty area, but Sean Longstaff and Isak failed to take the opportunities.
Isak made up for his wastefulness by netting the second in the 76th minute with a coolly taken penalty to seal the win, sending Trafford the wrong way after Newcastle were awarded a spot-kick for a foul on Anthony Gordon by Ameen Al-Dakhil.
“I missed a few before so really needed that goal. I just tried to keep calm and composed,” Isak said.
“We had a lot of chances to put away more but the sharpness wasn’t there like last week. The most important (thing) is the three points.”
The win was soured slightly by an injury blow, as Joelinton pulled up sharply with what looked like a hamstring issue. The Brazilian midfielder was substituted four minutes after coming off the bench.
Newcastle remained in eighth place on 12 points from seven games, while promoted Burnley are second from bottom on one point after six matches.
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru, editing by Ed Osmond)
