Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes scored straight from a corner as 10-man Burnley’s struggles continued at St James’ Park.
Guimaraes’ moment of inspiration and a penalty from Anthony Gordon inflicted a sixth consecutive Premier League defeat on Burnley, who had defender Lucas Pires sent off in the first half.
Burnley substitute Zian Flemming pulled one back from the spot in second-half stoppage time, after Newcastle midfielder Jacob Ramsey handled the ball, but it came too late for Scott Parker’s side.
The Clarets made a fearless start but fell behind when Guimaraes stepped up on home soil once again.
With Burnley no doubt expecting Guimaraes to target a team-mate from Newcastle’s first corner of the afternoon, the midfielder instead whipped the ball past former team-mate Martin Dubravka and into the far corner.
Guimaraes become the first Newcastle player to find the back of the net directly from a corner in a Premier League game.
Burnley crumbled and defender Pires was sent off just a few minutes later after taking down Anthony Elanga outside the area as the Swede raced through on goal following Gordon’s defence-splitting pass.
Newcastle quickly made the most of the man advantage, earning a penalty deep into first-half stoppage time when Burnley midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu handled.
Although referee Stuart Attwell did not give a penalty initially, the official was sent to the pitchside monitor for a second look by the video assistant referee and ruled that Ugochukwu’s arms were in an “unnatural position”.
Up stepped Gordon, who sent Dubravka the wrong way to score his second penalty in as many games.
Newcastle pushed for a third after the break – forward Yoane Wissa made his debut for the club as a substitute after recovering from a knee injury – but Dubravka made smart saves to deny Guimaraes and prevent centre-back Maxime Esteve turning the ball into his own net.
Flemming made Newcastle sweat after scoring a penalty following another VAR intervention.
But Newcastle – not without a scare – saw the game out to move up to 10th place, at least temporarily, while Burnley remain four points from safety.
