Newcastle United 2-0 Burnley: 2023/24 Premier League gameweek 7 match report

Newcastle United deservedly beat Burnley 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon, thanks to goals from Miguel Almirón (14') and Alexander Isak (76').

Here's a recap of all of the action, highlights, and in-depth player ratings for all 15 players used by Eddie Howe at St. James' Park in the victory over Vincent Kompany's side.

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Match Report

After a slightly nervy opening 10 minutes against a Burnley team who came to play in their usual style, a slightly unfamiliar-looking Newcastle United chalked up a fifth consecutive clean sheet and a third consecutive win.

The visitors started the game better and Nick Pope was the first goalkeeper called into action, saving well at the Gallowgate End from Zeki Amdouni after an almost catastrophic slip by Dan Burn had allowed the makeshift striker a free shot at goal from 12 yards.

It didn't take long for Eddie Howe's side to find their rhythm, though, and the opening goal from Miguel Almirón was a thing of beauty.

The strike owed a lot to the sharpness of Kieran Trippier, who robbed Aaron Ramsey of possession high on the right and knocked the ball into the feet of the Paraguayan. Almirón drove forward and took a couple of touches to steady himself before curling an unstoppable effort over James Trafford into the top-left corner from 20 yards.

The goal seemed to release the pressure in the stadium and it was all Newcastle from then on. Alexander Isak was uncharacteristically wasteful when deftly played in by Bruno Guimarães, a heavy touch giving him too much to do and allowing Trafford to smother. The Swede even got a second bite at the cherry but was off-balance as he awkwardly hooked the ball wide with his left foot from seven yards.

Then came the best chance of the game, created by the excellent Sean Longstaff for the rather less excellent Elliot Anderson. The number 36 carried the ball forward down the right and picked out the number 32 at the far post with a perfectly weighted cross, but the 20-year-old's powerful diving header somehow hit the outstretched feet of the opposing goalkeeper from six yards out rather than the back of the net.

The Magpies headed into the break wondering how they were only 1-0 ahead but came out of the interval with renewed purpose and completely dominated the second half. It took a penalty to seal the victory, though, with Anthony Gordon again making a vital contribution to his team when drawing a clumsy tackle from Ameen Al-Dakhil, who originally made a mess of a routine headed clearance to put himself under needless pressure.

There were plenty of nerves around the stadium as the off-colour Isak stepped up to the spot, but the number 14 tends to have ice in his veins in these situations. And so it proved, as he stroked the ball into the bottom-right corner in front of the Gallowgate with Trafford diving the other way.

The win and clean sheet never really looked in doubt in the 20 minutes of play after that point, though Pope was again called into action to save a header from Al-Dakhil from a left-wing corner. Longstaff got away with some sloppy marking on that occasion, but that was his only poor moment in an otherwise outstanding performance.

In summary, this turned into a comfortable win for Newcastle and, while it wasn't a vintage performance, Howe's side were well worth the three points and clean sheet. The only blots on the copybook were the hamstring injury to Joelinton and Gordon's one-match ban for accumulating five yellow cards, which will leave our left side looking rather light at West Ham next weekend.

Highlights

Here's all of the action from the game, courtesy of the Sky Sports Premier League YouTube channel:

Player Ratings

While this wasn't Newcastle at their best, there were still a lot of good individual showings, with Bruno just edging Longstaff and Trippier to our "Man of the Match" award.

Starters

• Nick Pope 7 – made a pair of very good saves and was much better with his distribution than he has been of late
• Kieran Trippier 8 – grabbed another assist, made several important tackles, and had more touches than anyone else
• Jamaal Lascelles 7 – defended well throughout but was a little bit shaky in possession at times early on, grew into the game thereafter
• Fabian Schär 7 – switching from right to left didn't seem to phase him at all but did diminish his long-range passing options somewhat
• Dan Burn 6 – had a first half to forget but found his feet in the second period and was much better in possession, in particular
• Sean Longstaff 8 – put in a huge shift off the ball and created the best chance of the game for Anderson in the first half
• Bruno Guimarães 8 – looks to be back to his best, winning tackles, picking passes, and enjoying his football again
• Elliot Anderson 6 – missed the best chance of the game and always seemed to want to take too many touches in possession
• Miguel Almirón 7 – scored a peach of an opening goal and was as full of running as ever, but used the ball rather poorly overall
• Alexander Isak 7 – did not appear to be at full fitness and missed a huge opening in the first half, but his penalty was ice-cool
• Anthony Gordon 8 – an absolute dynamo throughout, won the penalty and looks to be full of confidence at the moment

Substitutes

• Joelinton 5 – lasted less than five minutes after replacing Anderson, pulling a hamstring during his first movement
• Sandro Tonali 6 – came on for the hamstrung Joelinton and was very safe in possession, though possibly a little too reserved
• Tino Livramento 5 – only got a minute at the end and didn't even have time to touch the ball
• Jacob Murphy 5 – see Livramento, T.

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Up Next

Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbappé are due on Tyneside on Wednesday night for the second game of Group F in the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League.

It will be the first European game played at St. James' Park since the 1-1 draw with Benfica in April 2013 and the first Champions League game since Barcelona beat us 2-0 in March 2003.

Howay the lads!