Dan Burn and Joelinton scored headers as Newcastle beat Athletic Club 2-0 at St James’ Park, sealing a third straight Champions League win.
Dan Burn’s thumping header set Newcastle United on course for a 2-0 Champions League victory over Athletic Club at St James’ Park. Joelinton added a second after half-time as Eddie Howe’s men sealed their third successive win in the competition.
Burn’s opener came after just 11 minutes when he met Kieran Trippier’s pinpoint free-kick with a powerful header that bounced in off the far post. The goal reflected Newcastle’s intent to respond following their disappointing Premier League defeat to West Ham over the weekend.
Athletic, missing key players including the Williams brothers, tried to fight back and twice struck the post in the first half through Unai Gómez and Adama Boiro. However, goalkeeper Nick Pope stood firm to deny the visitors and maintain Newcastle’s advantage at the break.
Four minutes after the restart, Newcastle doubled their advantage. Harvey Barnes worked space on the left and floated a cross toward Joelinton, who rose unmarked to head home from close range. It was a deserved goal for the Brazilian, who had seen an earlier strike ruled out for offside.
That second goal effectively sealed the result. While Athletic pressed forward late on, Pope produced two strong saves to deny substitute Nico Serrano and preserve a third consecutive clean sheet for the Magpies in Europe.
The win lifted Newcastle into the top eight of the league phase standings, strengthening their push for the knockout rounds.
Burn’s early goal set the tone, while Joelinton’s second ensured Newcastle’s control. Burn, deployed at full-back to fill in for the injured Livramento, delivered a commanding display both defensively and offensively, earning him the player of the match award.
Trippier was another standout, providing his 25th assist since joining the club and continuing his reputation as one of Europe’s most consistent creators from set pieces. Pope’s crucial saves late on also highlighted the team’s growing defensive discipline as summer signing Malick Thiaw marshalled the defence.
Eddie Howe praised his side’s resilience and described the performance as the “perfect response” to their previous defeat, while Burn admitted his header was “one in a hundred” and credited the set-piece routine as straight from the training ground.
Newcastle controlled 58.5% of possession, recording eight shots with four on target compared to Athletic’s twelve attempts. The hosts completed 516 passes to Athletic’s 358 and restricted the visitors to limited clear chances.
The result marked Newcastle’s third consecutive European win and their third straight Champions League clean sheet, matching their longest unbeaten run in the competition’s history.
Newcastle will travel to the Gtech Community Stadium to face Brentford on Sunday, November 9th, before hosting Manchester City on November 22nd after the international break. The Magpies resume European duties with a trip to Marseille on November 25th.
Athletic Club, meanwhile, return to La Liga action at San Mamés against Real Oviedo on Sunday, before an away trip to Barcelona on November 22nd. Ernesto Valverde’s side next Champions League fixture will be away to Slavia Prague on November 25th.
