Newcastle United earned their third consecutive Champions League victory with a 2–0 win over Athletic Bilbao at St James’ Park on Wednesday, moving within reach of the knockout stage.
After Sunday’s poor Premier League defeat at West Ham, Eddie Howe’s side produced a truly assertive response.
Dan Burn opened the scoring in the 12th minute, meeting Kieran Trippier’s deep free-kick with a beauty of a header that arced inside the far post. The finish was Burn’s first in Europe and drew comparisons to his Wembley strike in last season’s Carabao Cup final, also created by Trippier.
Athletic threatened through Unai Gomez and Adama Boiro, who hit the woodwork, but Newcastle’s dominance was too much.
Four minutes after halftime, Harvey Barnes delivered a cross from the left for Joelinton to head in from close range, doubling the advantage and effectively settling the match.
Howe’s side managed the remainder of the match comfortably, keeping a third consecutive European clean sheet. Newcastle have now gone 293 minutes without conceding in the Champions League, winning all three group matches by a combined score of 9–0.
Anthony Gordon’s evening ended early after he missed a clear chance and appeared to aggravate a recurring hip injury as his all-around struggles continue. He was replaced by Jacob Murphy shortly before halftime, with Howe confirming afterward that his issue would be assessed.
“We needed to respond after the weekend, and we did,” Howe said. “The attitude and psychology were excellent. It puts us in a strong position.”
The win lifted Newcastle to nine points from four matches, leaving them one victory away from qualification for the knockout rounds — their best start in Europe since 2002.
With PSV still to visit St James’ Park in January, Newcastle are poised to progress as quickly as possible. The Magpies next travel to Brentford on Sunday before another boring international break.
