Ruthless Newcastle pushed Burnley closer to the Premier League trapdoor with a 4-1 rout at Turf Moor that boosts their Europa League hopes.
It was a crushing afternoon for Burnley as Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 win at Sheffield United left them five points from safety with only two left to play – a trip to Tottenham next week before Forest visit on the final day.
And it was the same old story. Vincent Kompany’s men began brightly and created a string of chances in the first 15 minutes but Callum Wilson scored from Newcastle’s first real attack 19 minutes in before goals from Sean Longstaff and Bruno Guimaraes put the game beyond doubt before half time.
Alexander Isak missed a penalty early in the second half but then got the fourth moments later as Newcastle moved up to sixth before Manchester United travel to Crystal Palace on Monday.
Dara O’Shea headed in a late corner but by then barely half the Burnley fans were still around to see it.
The Clarets had lost only one of their previous eight to get within touching distance of safety and started with a real buzz, winning a corner inside the first minute before early chances for Jacob Bruun Larsen and Lyle Foster.
Lorenz Assignon wanted a penalty in the eighth minute, charging into the box before Guimaraes barged into him and sent him sprawling but referee Anthony Taylor deemed it a fair challenge and VAR John Brooks agreed.
Newcastle were struggling to get close to Burnley’s box and the first time they did, Wilson was booked for simulation after tangling with Maxime Esteve.
But Wilson was celebrating the opener four minutes later. Tino Livramento led the charge downfield before the Magpies worked it wide to Jacob Murphy. Burnley goalkeeper Aro Muric denied Isak but the ball fell for Wilson to prod home.
Momentum immediately swung and an all-too-familiar pattern unfolded in front of the Turf Moor faithful.
Anthony Gordon and Dan Burn went close before the second goal arrived in the 35th minute. Gordon sent a deep cross to Wilson, who twisted away from Esteve to feed Murphy, who cut it back for the arriving Longstaff to sweep home.
Five minutes later, Burnley fans were sent streaming for the exits as Newcastle got their third. Assignon was too easily robbed of possession by Burn and Gordon was barely challenged before laying the ball off for Guimaraes to pass into the corner of the net.
It was Gordon’s 10th assist of the season to go with his 10 goals.
With England manager Gareth Southgate watching on, Gordon started the second half in much the same vein, setting up an early chance for Wilson before winning a penalty in the 51st minute, dragged down by Josh Brownhill after charging along the touchline.
Isak stepped up but a poor penalty was too close to Muric, who pushed it to safety before a lengthy VAR check decided the goalkeeper had not moved too soon.
Not that it mattered, as Isak would score three minutes later after a loose pass from Sander Berge sent Newcastle racing forward again.
Murphy’s low cross was just behind Isak but he adjusted to fire in his 20th league goal of the season – the first Newcastle player to reach the mark in the Premier League since Alan Shearer 20 years ago.
With the home stands of Turf Moor rapidly emptying, Muric did well to deny Guimaraes a second in the 68th minute while at the other end O’Shea had the final word when he met Johann Berg Gudmundsson’s corner, but it was scant consolation for desperate Burnley.