Newcastle United conceded an early goal, were victims of a poor decision by VAR, and couldn’t seem to create enough in the final third. Turns out that all the match needed was a little Allan Saint-Maximin as NUFC took the double from Burnley with a 2-1 win.
Alongside a returning Callum Wilson, Saint-Maximin subbed on in the 57th minute with the Magpies down 1-0. Two minutes later, he danced into the Burnley penalty area and served up Jacob Murphy, who curved the ball around multiple defenders for the equalizer.
Then, less than ten minutes into his appearance, he took the ball on a run that would make Hatem Ben Arfa proud and fired a left-footed effort in to put Newcastle ahead.
Looking back on some of the negative moments in the match, the goal by Burnley was largely helped along by dismal NUFC defending. Ciaran Clark was undone by Chris Wood and Paul Dummett decided to leave Matej Vydra unmarked for an easy finish.
Allan Saint-Maximin came off the bench to save Newcastle United, scoring and assisting in the 2-1 win.
While Anthony Taylor missed the call live, VAR somehow determined that James Tarkowski’s high boot to the head of Sean Longstaff wasn’t worthy of a penalty. Thankfully, that blown moment didn’t cost Newcastle United.
With a match in hand, Steve Bruce’s side moves six points clear of Fulham and the relegation zone. This was a massive three points for the Magpies and they owe the result largely to their French star.
What’s Next?
Newcastle United will look to make it back-to-back season sweeps next week as they take on West Ham United, who they defeated in their season opener. The Hammers are currently sixth on the table and face Leicester City today.