Newcastle United survived a scare against struggling Burnley to end 2025 with a rare away win.
It took Joelinton only 65 seconds to open the scoring at Turf Moor as the Brazilian got ahead of Burnley defender Hjalmar Ekdal to connect with Anthony Gordon’s deflected cross and hook the ball into the net.
Yoane Wissa then doubled his side’s advantage from close range following a goalmouth scramble after Kyle Walker cleared the forward’s initial effort off the line.
But spirited Burnley rallied and defender Josh Laurent pulled one back with a volley at the back post after Armando Broja flicked the ball on to his unmarked team-mate.
Although Newcastle had a string of chances to quickly restore their two-goal lead, Wissa headed wide from Bruno Guimaraes’ corner while Harvey Barnes was denied by Martin Dubravka when the former Newcastle goalkeeper rushed off his line.
The game became increasingly frenetic and Newcastle were a little relieved to go into half-time in front after defender Fabian Schar cleared Marcus Edwards’ effort off the line.
Burnley grew in belief after the break and Nick Pope made a big save to keep out Edwards’ shot with his leg, and the returning Newcastle goalkeeper also went on to claw away Lucas Pires’ goal-bound cross.
Burnley then came mightily close to equalising when Laurent’s header cannoned off the crossbar.
But Newcastle captain Guimaraes sealed the win late on following a mix-up at the back as the visitors recorded just a second away league win since mid-April to move up to 10th.
Burnley remain six points from safety in 19th.
Scott Parker’s final instructions would still have been ringing in his players’ ears when Joelinton put Newcastle in front. It was the quickest goal Burnley have conceded in a Premier League game.
If that was not bad enough, Wissa made it 2-0 just a few minutes later with Burnley aggrieved after Laurent was bundled over in the build-up by Guimaraes, only for the goal to stand following a check by the video assistant referee.
Burnley’s night went from bad to worse when recalled defender Maxime Esteve hobbled off on his return to action.
It would have been easy for Burnley to feel sorry for themselves, and to go under, having failed to win a game since October.
But Parker has repeatedly called his side “fighters” for a reason.
The lively Edwards lit a spark, firing just wide from outside the box and reawakening the home fans. Just a minute later, Laurent halved Newcastle’s lead.
It was rather fitting that the hosts left the field to the strains of Tubthumping by Chumbawamba through the stadium speakers at half-time.
This side had been knocked down, but they got up again and their efforts and courage could not be faulted as they pushed for a goal after the break – only to see Guimaraes ultimately dash any hopes of a comeback in the dying minutes.
It looked like history was in danger of repeating itself for Newcastle.
Few teams would race into a two-goal lead after just seven minutes against a relegation-threatened side and swiftly look vulnerable.
But Newcastle have only won two away league games since mid-April and no other team have dropped more points – 13 – from winning positions in the Premier League this season.
Just like on so many instances on the road, Newcastle lost control at Turf Moor, particularly in the middle of the park, and the game became increasingly stretched.
Yet, this time, Newcastle survived.
The visitors eventually found a way to grab a crucial third goal with the help of Dubravka, whose name was repeatedly sung by the away end, after Guimaraes profited from his late error.
The relief was palpable for Eddie Howe’s team at full-time, but they have to now build on this for the upcoming visits of Crystal Palace and Leeds United to St James’ Park.
Howe said: “It’s easy to say we should have shown more control, we should have done this, we should have done that.
“Of course we will look to endeavour to do that as we move forward, but we’re maybe not in that psychological moment to do that.
“Maybe in former times we would have done. The challenge is to get the players to the level where we can do that again.”
Burnley travel to the Amex Stadium to take on Brighton on Saturday, 3 January (15:00 GMT) before welcoming Manchester United to Turf Moor on Wednesday, 7 January (20:15 GMT).
Newcastle host Crystal Palace at St James’ Park on Sunday, 4 January (15:00 GMT) before another home game against Leeds United on Wednesday, 7 January (20:15 GMT).
