Newcastle United ran riot in the second half as they beat Sheffield United thanks to goals from Allan Saint-Maximin, Matt Ritchie, and Joelinton.

In their first game of the Premier League's project restart, Newcastle limited the Blades to very few chances and were clinical at the other end, resulting in the Sheffied United's heaviest defeat of the season.

  • Egan's red card changed the game

John Egan's red card undoubtedly changed the game after he received a second yellow card early in the second half.

His first yellow came in the first half after a altercation with Joelinton and he received his marching orders for grappling with the Newcaslte forward after a long ball over the top.

Five minutes later Saint-Maximin capitalized on a Enda Stevens error and fired past Dean Henderson. Ritchie then doubled the Magpie's lead with a sizzling strike from outside the box. Then Joelinton sealed the three points with a close range finish.

  • Joelinton ends goal drought

Since joining Newcastle for a fee of £40 million in the summer, Joelinton hasn't had it easy in the Premier League so far.

Prior to today he had only scored one goal, and that was on the 25th August. It looked liked today would a familiar story for the Brazilian as he squandered a golden opportunity in the first half.

However, he finally ended his drought at the second opportunity as he scored Newcastle's third goal of the afternoon, getting on the end of Miguel Almiron cross as Newcastle completed the double over the Blades.

Steve Bruce will be hoping he can string together a bit of form for the rest of the season as they look to claim a top half finish, starting with a visit to Aston Villa on Wednesday.

  • A day to forget for Sheffield United

Today was only the third time Sheffield United have lost away from home this season, but they will need to improve drastically when they go to Old Trafford on Wednesday in a crucial match for the race for top four.

The Blades were sloppy, poor and woeful as Newcastle dismantled them in the second half. Skipper Billy Sharp had the best chance for the visitors but he could not divert his header goalwards.

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 (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

John Fleck, who missed the draw with Aston Villa on Wednesday, replaced John Lundstram in the starting eleven but he failed to get into the game. 

Enda Stevens was at fault for the first goal as he failed to sort his feet out trying to clear Matt Ritchies cross, and ended up missing the ball completely, with Saint-Maximin making the most of the mistake. 

Chris Wilder will be without John Egan and potentially Jack O'Connell for the trip to Manchester United so a makeshift backline will be in place for the Blades.

Dean Henderson will also be unavaliable for selection on Wednesday due to being on loan at Sheffield United and Manchester United are his parent club.