Allan Saint-Maximin inspired Newcastle to a crucial 2-1 comeback victory at Burnley on Sunday which saw the Magpies move six points clear of the relegation drop zone.
The French fan favourite came off the bench along with returning striker Callum Wilson to score a stunning goal and set up another in seven second half minutes to seal what could prove to be a massive three points for Steve Bruce’s men come May.
Going into this one having failed to win since a 3-2 victory over Southampton back at the start of February, it looked like that run was going to continue when Newcastle went behind after only 18 minutes.
Burnley forward Chris Wood did brilliantly to hold the ball before rushing to the byline and cutting it back for fellow striker Matej Vydra to shoot home. The Clarets then avoided a scare when VAR ruled against a Newcastle penalty following shouts of a high boot from defender James Tarkowski. The home side were in control. Things changed though when Saint-Maximin and Wilson were introduced to provide a spark in the final third.
The playmaker, brought on in the 57th minute, was on the field a mere 120 seconds when he set up Jacob Murphy, running at the Burnley defence before playing the ball into the midfielder who struck the top corner with ease. Soon after, Saint-Maximin was at it again, and this time got his own name on the scoresheet. Galloping forward with the ball at his feet, he cut inside to bamboozle the home defence before striking the ball low into the bottom corner past a sprawling Nick Pope.
An assist and a goal, all within the space of seven minutes is exactly what Bruce will have wanted from the change and it was Saint-Maximin’s individual quality that secured the win after a brilliant turnaround.
"This win is big but there's still a bit to go," said the Newcastle boss after the game. "Certainly it's a helping hand. It's an important game, so to win it was very good.
"It's been difficult with our injuries. You can see what Allan Saint-Maximin brings to the team. We've missed that bit of quality and excitement. To be missing your top players constantly, it affects teams. We didn't play well enough in the first half. Second half we were a different animal. We can improve of course but it's there for everyone to see."
Burnley will be left to rue wasteful finishing after managing 24 shots but only getting four of them on target. In contrast, Newcastle had only touched the ball twice in the opposition box during the opening 45 minutes before turning the game on its head.
Newcastle moved onto 32 points, six clear of Fulham who are 18th and level with Brighton who host Everton on Monday. The Clarets have 33 points and will be hoping they don’t get dragged into a relegation fight should the Cottagers pull a winning run out of the bag.
