Newcastle’s charge up the Premier League table continued after their 4-1 hammering of Southampton at St Mary’s.
The Magpies moved into the top three with their latest victory, leaving Saints mired in the bottom three.
Miguel Almiron is in the form of his career and it was his eighth goal in 13 appearances – equalling his best ever season tally already – that got Newcastle started on the South Coast.
It was a flowing Newcastle move that the referee could have halted more than once for foul-worthy Southampton tackles, and it ended with Almiron rounding his man and rolling his shot past Gavin Bazunu.
Southampton were booed off at the break.
Wilson, feeling light-headed, was withdrawn at half-time, and replaced by Chris Wood.
Jacob Murphy found Wood in the box shortly after play resumed and the big Kiwi converted to double Newcastle’s lead.
With Southampton pushing forward in search of a lifeline, Newcastle were able to play on the break and they exploited the space left by Saints happily.
It took only four minutes for Joe Willock to collect a Kieran Trippier pass and make it 3-0.
Romain Perraud pulled one back for the hosts in the 89th minute, but Newcastle restored their three-goal lead in stoppage time.
Bruno Guimaraes unleashed a trademark strike from distance to make it 4-1.
The victory took Newcastle to nine matches unbeaten and up to third in the league, leaving their opposition 18th.
It was also a match which marked one year in charge for manager Eddie Howe, who couldn’t have had much to complain about at full-time.
Only the potential injury suffered by Kieran Trippier appeared as a cloud in the Newcastle sky, but the England full-back confirmed after the match that he was just feeling tightness in his hamstring.
Elsewhere, West Ham faced Crystal Palace at the Olympic Stadium.
The Hammers were looking to bounce back from last weekend’s defeat at the hands of Manchester United, while Palace eyed a top-half place.
The visitors had dominated the opening stages when they sloppily turned over possession deep in their own half. The ball came to Said Benrahma who danced through two attempted tackles and uncorked a wicked shot which gave the home side the lead in the 19th minute.
In the 41st minute, Palace struck back when Eberechi Eze found Wilfried Zaha completely unmarked on the edge of the West Ham box. Zaha rode one challenge and slipped his finish under Lukasz Fabianski.
Having seen their team concede the lead and drop in intensity, the home crowd reacted to Benrahma’s withdrawal with loud boos. Worse was yet to come.
In stoppage time, the Hammers were caught high up the pitch and Eze led a quick break. Eze found Zaha, who played it wide to Michael Olise. Olise tried his luck, and got his fair share when the desperate West Ham tackler deflected the shot up and over Fabianski and into the goal.
That Palace had come back from a deficit to win should come as no surprise. They’ve now won 12 points from losing positions this season, more than any other team in the division.
This latest comeback takes them into the top half of the Premier League, leaving their hosts 15th, just two points from the relegation zone.
The Hammer’s defeat, and their generally unimpressive season so far, will only ratchet up the pressure on manager David Moyes. The frustration loudly exhibited by the fans will do likewise.
