Newcastle United dominated from start to finish with three great goals to move the Magpies out of the bottom three.
The North East side dominated as they defeated relegation rivals Cardiff 3-0.
The story of the match
Fabian schär opened the scoring for Newcastle after taking on four Cardiff City players.
Schär doubled the Magpies' lead when he got on the end of Jamaal Lascelles' flick-on from a corner.
A swift counter-attack from the home side saw Ayoze Perez finish from five yards.
Newcastle's early dominance paid off when Schär ran with the ball from the halfway line taking on four Cardiff players before slotting it into the bottom left corner.
Nothing looked on for the Switzerland international but he just kept running and it was an accomplished finish for a centre half.
The centre back got his second of the game when he tapped home from close range after Lascelles flicked on well to the back post.
It was a deserved second for the home side as Cardiff had not tested Martin Dubravka once.
Salomon Rondon ran took on Joe Bennett after some lovely stepovers before squaring it perfectly for Perez to make it three.
Matt Ritchie whipped in a perfect corner that was met by the head of Perez but Neil Etheridge pulled off a fantastic save to keep the scores level.
Newcastle had a penalty appeal when Perez attempted to flick the ball past Bennett and it brushed the Cardiff defender's hand, but Stuart Atwell waved away any appeals.
On the stroke of halftime, Victor Camarasa tried his luck from 25-yards out but, Dubravka saw it sail over the bar.
Rondon flicked on for Perez to chase and he got the better of Bennett but he could not find a way past Etheridge who spread himself well.
Perez managed to pick out DeAndre Yedlin unmarked in the box and he cut it back for Isaac Hayden but his effort was blocked by two Cardiff defenders.
Takeaways from the match
Rondon the key player for Benitez
Rondon is going to be key for Newcastle if they are to stay up this season.
The Venezuelan striker bullied Bruno Ecuele Manga and Sol Bamba all game and brought the home side's attacking players into the game further up the pitch.
Despite not getting on the scoresheet the number nine put in a near-perfect performance for Rafa Benitez's side.
Goals from midfield still a problem
Newcastle's midfielders have struggled for goals all season, and despite creating chances for others nobody seems eager to get forward and score.
This was a difficult game for the midfielders, especially Sean Longstaff and Isaac Hayden who put in a good performance breaking up the play for 90 minutes.
However, Benitez will be wanting more going forward this season from his deep-lying playmakers.
Man of the match
Schär was excellent at both ends of the pitch today, getting two goals and putting in numerous crucial blocks.
The Swiss international put the Magpies in total control when he netted his second of the match in the second half.
The centre-back then went on to block a number of dangerous crosses from Cardiff as he ensured his side left with all three points and a clean sheet.