Newcastle Destroyed Athletic Bilbao in Champions League, European Streak Continues

Magpies took advantage of the amazing chance to prove themselves as one of the clubs to watch for in Europe this season.

Dan Burn / IMAGO / NurPhoto

Newcastle United hosted Athletic Bilbao at St. James Park, trying to get their third UEFA Champions League win in a row during Matchday 4 of the league phase, and they succeeded.

After uncertainty regarding some of their best players' status prior to the match, Newcastle was able to overcome that and keep their winning streak in the best football competition in the world.

St. James Park was the perfect scenario for the Magpies facing the Spaniards, and the non-stop support by the crowd made it much easier for Eddie Howe’s squad to strike first in the game.

Eddie Howe has confirmed to the media that his roster will not be completely fit for the clash against the Spaniards team, making it more difficult for them to get a win tonight, but not impossible.

Bilbao arrived in Newcastle, used to this type of clash, and news about Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali being ill and doubtful to play built some confidence in them, but that ended up not being the case.

An Unexpected Hero Opened the Path to Victory

IMAGO / Belga

When everyone's eyes were on players like Nick Woltemade, Bruno Guimaraes or Sandro Tonali, the name of Dan Burn was massively overlooked by Athletic players, and they paid for that mistake early in the game.

It was just the 11th minute of the first half when a set-piece opportunity came for Newcastle on offence and Eddie Howe’s tactics came to shine. Executed by a majestic touch by Kieran Trippier, Burn managed to escape from all Bilbao defences to appear alone in the area.

The 33-year-old English veteran avoided the offside trap by Athletic and placed a dominant header to Unai Simón’s far post to score the first goal of the match. The St. James Park crowd exploded, and they went to halftime with an advantage.

Howe had a clear sight on the mission of the game, to secure the three points. Knowing that, Newcastle started strongly in the second half, and they were rewarded for it pretty quickly.

Joelington, assisted by Barnes, scored the second goal for the Magpies at the 49th minute, even before the first five minutes of the second half had gone by. After that, the rest of the match became calm for Newcastle, giving them even more chances to net a third one, but they were not able to.

With this win, Newcastle sits temporarily in the sixth position on the UEFA Champions League standings with nine points, giving them enough advantage over most teams in the competition for the playoffs race.

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