NEWCASTLE: Newcastle United secured a third successive Champions league victory with Dan Burn and Joelinton both on target in a 2-0 defeat of injury-plagued Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.
England defender Burn curled in a majestic header after 11 minutes and Joelinton doubled the Premier League club’s lead shortly after the restart with another header as Newcastle moved into the top eight in the table with nine points.
Despite a host of injuries that left them without eight first-team players including Spain international Nico Williams, Athletic did cause plenty of problems for Eddie Howe’s side.
The closest the visitors came was a thunderous shot against the post by Adama Boiro shortly after Burn’s opener while Unai Gomez was also close to an equaliser.
Athletic have only three points from their opening four games and will need to improve if they are not to miss out on a chance of reaching the knockout phase.