Newcastle make it three in a row with win against Athletic Bilbao

NEWCASTLE, England :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.

Newcastle began their campaign with a defeat against Barcelona but have since beaten Union Saint-Gilloise, Benfica and now Athletic Bilbao by an aggregate of 9-0.

It is the first time they have won three games in a row in the competition since 2002-03.

"Really pleased with today. It was an important response to (losing to) West Ham," Howe said. "We had a quick turnaround for this game. I don't think it was us at our best but we're in a good position now in this competition."

Newcastle face Olympique de Marseille away in their next Champions League game after the international break while Athletic are at Slavia Prague.