Newcastle edge past Burnley in unflattering win
Newcastle United’s trend of worrying performances continued at Turf Moor, but the Magpies came away with three valuable points.
Newcastle United never do things the easy way. Even at Wembley in March, a late Liverpool goal made getting over the line and claiming their first major trophy in 56 years much more nervy than it should have been given the Magpies’ performance. At Turf Moor, the stakes weren’t quite as high, but it still felt like an important night.
And in true Newcastle fashion, they did not make things as simple as they could have been after they had raced into a two-goal lead after just ten minutes. For Newcastle supporters young and old (all of whom will have grey hairs as a result), that is nothing new, but at present it highlights a real concern about the way that Eddie Howe’s side are attempting to defend leads.
No team has dropped more points from winning positions in the Premier League than Newcastle have this season, and it felt that against Burnley, more points could have been lost. For the closing period of the first half and for large parts of the second, the home side harried and hassled Newcastle, missing a number of chances.
But how did this happen? Newcastle flew out of the traps, and, as mentioned, were two goals up before the clock reached double figures - Joelinton and Yoane Wissa on the scoresheet. The game could have been won by half time if that approach had continued, but as has occurred too often, the Magpies dropped back, as if the energy and dynamism had been sucked out of them.
Burnley then scored, an inevitability, and Newcastle were left hanging on for a win to close out the year that had seen them win a trophy and qualify for the Champions League. How football can change so quickly.
See it out they did, adding a third in injury time, thanks to a mix up at the back from Burnley involving former Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka. This allowed Bruno Guimarães to pass the ball into the empty net. There were celebrations as a result, and a collective sigh of relief, both in the away end at Turf Moor, and all across Tyneside.
In amongst the overall concerns, there were also individual ones. Players who have been so vital to Newcastle this calendar year were playing very much within themselves. If their application is lacking, Newcastle will not play well. On top of that, there also seems a reluctance from the coaching staff to experiment with different formations and systems to combat the lack of fluidity when attacking.
A win is a win though, and that is what Newcastle achieved, ahead of more winnable games to come in the Premier League. Eddie Howe will hope that this win, whilst far from pretty, will be the confidence boost they need. The worry is that the performance did not buck the trends of dropping deep when leading, and intensity disappearing in attack for large periods in games.
These are issues that need to be solved quickly by Howe. The season is not a write off, far from it given how tight the league is, but Newcastle must improve in 2026. 2025 was capped off with a win though, quite fitting for what has been an historic 12 months in black and white.