North East | Analysis and reaction to Newcastle's win over Athletic Club

Newcastle United 2 - 0 Athletic Club

Headers from Dan Burn and Joelinton earned Newcastle United a vital Champions League win over Athletic Club.

Author | Ryan Gates

Stadium | St. James' Park

Burn and Joelinton were among nine players retained from the side beaten by West Ham at the weekend, and both justified Eddie Howe’s decision to keep faith with his senior players.

It was Burn who broke the deadlock after 11 minutes, powering a header in off the upright from Kieran Trippier’s free-kick.

Injury-hit Athletic responded well, with Adama Boiro striking the post on the volley and Nick Pope making a sharp save with his foot to deny Unai Gomez at his near post.

Newcastle, who lost Anthony Gordon to a hip problem, doubled their lead early in the second half. Harvey Barnes, recalled to the starting XI, worked space inside the area before lofting a cross for Joelinton to nod home.

READ MORE | Newcastle fans react to EFL Cup win over Spurs

Athletic pressed late on, forcing Pope into another save to keep out Nico Serrano, but Newcastle held firm to climb above Real Madrid into sixth in the group.

The win marked Newcastle’s third successive victory in a major European competition, their best run on the continent since 2007.

Newcastle fans weren't happy with the performance

Tom: Nowhere near a performance of real quality but the important thing was securing the points and keeping a clean sheet. Athletic Club were competitive and, despite missing key players, showed more individual skill than us. Still, a big step up from the display against West Ham.

David: Another Champions League win, which is great, but we seem to struggle with the basics of keeping the ball. If we do the same at Brentford and keep gifting them possession, they will punish us. We have to be more careful and stop giving it away so cheaply.

Benjamin: Not the most convincing response but we’ll take it. A scrappy first half, better after the break, but still some way off the levels of last season. Lewis Hall looked a cut above.

Leigh: A poor display overall. The midfield never found rhythm, even simple control looked a problem and the passing was consistently off. Woltemade was isolated again and Gordon offered little before going off. A win’s a win though.

Mikey: A win’s a win, but a pretty average performance at best against an injury-hit side who looked more comfortable on the ball. The defending was stronger but we were sloppy in possession and predictable going forward. Joelinton worked hard to support Woltemade, while Hall showed what we’ve been missing. Newcastle lack creativity and flair at the moment and haven’t adapted quickly enough to playing with a different type of striker than last season.