A pair of headers from Dan Burn and Joelinton powered Newcastle United to victory as they defeated Athletic Club in the Champions League.
Burn and Joelinton were among nine players who kept their places following the weekend defeat against West Ham and the experienced duo repaid the faith of head coach Eddie Howe at St James’ Park.
It was Burn who opened the scoring, directing a superb bullet header in off the upright from Kieran Trippier’s free-kick on 11 minutes.
Injury-hit Athletic did not crumble, however, and left-back Adama Boiro struck the post on the volley while Nick Pope had to be alert at his near post to keep out forward Unai Gomez’s shot with his foot.
But Newcastle, who lost Anthony Gordon to a hip issue, doubled their lead after the break.
The recalled Harvey Barnes created space inside the box with some neat footwork before scooping the ball across to the unmarked Joelinton, who headed past Unai Simon.
Athletic rallied again and Pope pushed substitute Nico Serrano’s shot behind late on, but Newcastle saw out the game to move above Real Madrid into sixth place in the standings.
Howe’s team, in the process, recorded three straight victories in a major European competition for the first time since 2007.