Headers from Dan Burn and Joelinton gave Eddie Howe's side a third successive Champions League success at St.James' Park on Wednesday night - leaving them sixth in the table and with renewed hope of progressing to the knockout stages of the competition.

The Magpies defender set his side on their way to victory against a below-strength Athletic side 11 minutes after the first whistle, latching on to Kieran Trippier's free kick to loop in a superb effort that echoed his landmark Carabao Cup Final goal at Wembley Stadium back in March.

Pressing forward in a successful ploy to pressurise the hosts on the edge of their own box, Bilbao themselves came desperately close to a 19th minute equaliser when Adama Boiro rattled the goal frame. A combination of Nick Pope and his near post then kept a Unai Gomez shot out.

United's clinching second goal followed four minutes into the second period; Harvey Barnes seeing his initial shot on goal bounce back to him and looping in a cross that the unmarked Joelinton nodded in.

The Brazilian had just failed to give United a sixth minute lead, finishing well when just offside. Scoring one that counted was timely, given the justified criticism that following his coasting display at West Ham last time out.

Further home goals could have followed: Nick Woltemade not too far away with a trademark flick and Anthony Elanga unable to get sufficient contact from close range after an unselfish centre by Jacob Murphy. The Swede came off the bench to occupy the left wing but again wasn't impactful.

Multiple substitutions by both sides in the closing stages led to some moments of slight panic in the home defence as the Basques enjoyed their best spell after giving senior debuts to a pair of Academy graduates, but couldn't make the breakthrough that would have made for a nervy finale.

A thoroughly merited three points came without Newcastle showing the attacking fluency that they had in the home conquest of Benfica; the scoreline and the performance reminiscent of last week's Carabao Cup win over Spurs when Howe's side did what they needed to do without fanfare.

The end result though is a very favourable position - two points short of the total that secured playoff qualification last season with four games still to play and at this point harbouring aspirations (or delusions) of a top eight finish and automatic progression to the Round of 16. Heady stuff.

United's quest to extend their winning home run and banish thoughts of Sunday's no-show at West Ham was boosted by Athletic's injury crisis. Ernesto Valverde made seven changes from the starting line-up that defeated Qarabag last time out, absentees including both Neco and Inaki Williams plus Gorka Guruzeta - the latter netting twice against Azebaijanis.

Lewis Hall made a welcome return from the bench following a six game absence through injury, quickly showing what his side have been lacking at left back despite the honest endeavours of Burn in that role. Trippier's return on the opposite side meanwhile brought a reassuring presence missing in E20.

Less positively, an uninspiring shift from Anthony Gordon ended prematurely before half time when he left the field in some discomfort - the speed that his replacement Murphy was ready underlining the fact that Gordon may well have been a doubtful starter.

Continuing to fight on two (home) fronts in the cups, attention now switches to the Premier League and the vexed subject of our away form. Next up is a first visit to Brentford since a 2-4 loss there almost a year ago after which we called the team "routinely haphazard".

Then comes an international break hopefully followed by the appearance of Tino Livramento and Yoane Wissa - the latter timely to give Woltemade some relief; tonight seeing him routinely dropping deep and lacking support. The parts are all there, fettling them into something that consistently works regardless of venue or prestige remains a challenge. As for Elanga, not a clue frankly...

Biffa