Guimaraes corner goal fires Newcastle into top half with victory over Burnley

Newcastle United earned a vital 2-1 victory over Burnley in the Premier League on Saturday.

The result was Newcastle’s fourth match without defeat and deepened Burnley’s ongoing relegation battle.

Bruno Guimaraes opened the scoring with a rare goal directly from a corner, catching Burnley off guard when he curled the ball beyond Martin Dubravka into the far corner.

The captain’s strike settled Newcastle after an uncertain start in which Burnley pressed high and created early pressure from set pieces and long deliveries into the box.

Burnley’s response quickly unravelled when Lucas Pires was sent off. The red card left Burnley exposed against opponents who were already growing in confidence.

Newcastle doubled the lead in first-half stoppage time when a VAR check concluded that Lesley Ugochukwu had handled a cross inside the penalty area.

Anthony Gordon stepped up and sent Dubravka the wrong way to score his second penalty in successive matches and give Newcastle a comfortable cushion at the interval.

Newcastle pushed for a third goal after the break. Yoane Wissa was introduced for his debut after a long injury absence and immediately added pace to the attack.

Dubravka denied Guimaraes a second when he hit a dipping effort from distance. The goalkeeper also prevented Maxime Esteve from turning the ball into his own net under pressure.

Newcastle were largely in control but lacked composure in the final third, which allowed Burnley to stay alive and wait for one chance to unsettle the contest late on.

Burnley eventually halved the deficit in stoppage time when a VAR review penalised Jacob Ramsey for handball inside the area.

Zian Flemming struck from the spot, giving Burnley brief hope of a dramatic finish, but Newcastle resisted a late aerial bombardment to secure the points.

The win moved Newcastle up to tenth place, at least temporarily, and kept them positioned within reach of the European places heading into a congested stretch of fixtures.