Newcastle have found a new game-changer, £13m bonus and Dan Ashworth's excitement - 5 things

Newcastle United have moved seven points clear of the relegation zone following a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Brighton at St James' Park.

Ryan Fraser gave Newcastle the lead in the 12th minute after Jacob Murphy's initial effort had come back off the upright. Fabian Schar doubled the Magpies' advantage just a couple of minutes later when the defender got his head on the end of Fraser's teasing free-kick.

Brighton responded well to going behind, however, after the break and Lewis Dunk pulled one back with a header in the 55th minute. Although Brighton pushed for an equaliser, Newcastle managed to hold firm to extend their unbeaten run to eight games.

Here are five things we learned from the game.

Remarkably, it is less than four months since Eddie Howe and assistant Jason Tindall sat in the directors' box with Amanda Staveley to watch the reverse fixture at the Amex ahead of taking charge of Newcastle. Newcastle showed real fight that night to come from behind to earn a point and the Magpies could have even won the game late on, but goalkeeper Robert Sanchez fouled Callum Wilson as the number nine was clean through on goal.

However, that did not necessarily tell the whole story. Newcastle only mustered one shot on target that night and Callum Wilson admitted earlier this week that 'we weren't set up in a way that' Eddie Howe 'would have probably wanted'.

A lot has changed since then and, perhaps, Graham Potter said it best when asked what had improved under Howe. The Brighton boss started his answer by simply saying: "Everything."

There were ultimately only three survivors from the reverse fixture in Newcastle's starting line-up on Saturday. Yes, Howe spent more than £90m last month but Fabian Schar, Joelinton, Joe