
Newcastle United made it four wins on the bounce after a dominating away performance against West Ham United, defeating The Hammers 5-1.
This puts Eddie Howe's men on 53 points for the season, and now positions the team as strong favourites to qualify for the Champions League.
The Geordies maintain third place and share the same points as Manchester United, who were also victorious, beating Brentford 1-0.
As for David Moyes's men, they drop down one place to 15th, with only four points separating them from Southampton, who are in last place - continuing to add to what will be one of the most dramatic relegation battles that the Premier League has seen.
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West Ham
Lukasz Fabiański: 2/10
The 37-year-old had a game to forget conceding five goals and only making two saves all game, including one mistake that led directly to Alexander Isak's goal. The goalkeeper also displayed poor distribution with only 33% of his passes being successful, reinforcing The Irons lacklustre display.
Thilo Kehrer: 3/10
The German right-back was exploited on numerous occasions by Newcastle's Allan Saint-Maximin, often being poorly positioned and showing a lack of awareness of his opponents whereabouts. Needlessly headed the ball out of play for a corner early on, which ultimately led to Callum Wilson's first goal.
Kurt Zouma: 4/10
Was caught flat-footed for Joelinton's first goal, not positioning himself correctly, which allowed the Brazilian to run in-behind. Scored West Ham's only goal, and that was his only worthy contribution.
Nayef Aguerd: 2/10
Persistently lost possession of the ball throughout the game (63% passing accuracy), and was directly at fault for Wilson's second goal of the evening - courtesy of a shocking first touch which trapped the ball at his feet, allowing Jacob Murphy to nab the ball off him.
Emerson Palmieri: 4/10
Arguably fortunate not to be sent off after being booked towards the end of the first-half, and continuing to commit fouls throughout the second-half. He did however boast a reasonable passing accuracy of 84% and was one of the better West Ham defenders on the pitch.
Tomás Souček: 4/10
Ghosted most of the game, didn't really contribute anything defensively or offensively and left his midfield partner, Declan Rice, all the work to do. Below average performance for the Czech.
Declan Rice: 7/10
Despite his team suffering a heavy defeat, he still shone and proved why he is one of the most sought after CDM's in Europe. Was successful in all five of his dribbling attempts, often being the primary ball advancer for The Irons while dictating their midfield and also completed an impressive shift defensively.
Jarrod Bowen: 5/10
The Englishman caused Dan Burn some problems throughout the game, but ultimately his efforts resulted in very little. Was wasteful in front of goal and lost possession 19 times.
Lucas Paquetá: 6/10
Again, similar to Bowen, he showed flashes of his dribbling ability but was unable to link-up with Michail Antonio effectively. Contributed decently defensively, tracking back well - but was marked out the game offensively, losing the ball 18 times.
Saïd Benrahma: 5/10
Rarely got involved in the game, only touched the ball 33 times and contributed one successful cross. Struggled to influence the game on a holistic level, but was accurate with his passes (81%). Although, the Algerian contributed nothing defensively, leaving Emerson with two vs one's to deal with.
Michael Antonio: 5/10
With his podcast partner scoring against him combined with the Jamaican's lack of contribution, West Ham's number nine will want to put a line through this one. Only had 25 touches of the ball and was accurate in only 33% of his passes - although this he was not helped by his teammates who left him isolated up top.
Substitutes:
Flynn Downes: 5/10
Was on the pitch for around 30 minutes but only touched the ball 14 times, and was inaccurate with his passing. Did not impact the game at all, was yellow carded as well.
Danny Ings: 5/10
Once again, there is not much to be said. From what I remember he spent the majority of his time on the pitch complaining to the referee. Was not involved in any of West Ham's attacking build up and only touched the ball 8 times.
Vladmir Coufal: 4/10
Was not as bad as Kehrer, but did a decent job trying to match him. Coufal was sloppy on the ball, and showed little composure, losing possession nine times and was only accurate with 58% of his passes. Came on to help organise the backline with his experience but failed to do that.
Maxwell Cornet: 6/10
Although the 26-year-old did little wrong when he came on, he failed to impact the game, and was unable to provide the much-needed boost to the West Ham attack. Newcastle were probably glad Cornet decided to join The Irons as the player has ultimately contributed very little to the club since his departure from Burnley.
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Newcastle United
Nick Pope: 6/10
The England number two was not forced to work much due to The Hammer's lethargic attack and only made one save all game. Arguably could have done better for the goal Zouma scored and was fairly poor with his distribution throughout the game.
Kieran Trippier: 7/10
An archetypal Trippier performance. The 32-year-old was composed on the ball and easily found away past the West Ham press. Boasted a 80% pass completion rate, and effectively helped The Magpies build up the ball from the back and won all of his aerial duels - kept Benrahma quiet.
Fabian Schar: 9/10
The right-centre-back showed immense defensive awareness all game winning five ground duels and four in the air, as well as making five interceptions and four tackles. Also got an assist for Joelinton's goal with a rather brilliant through-ball. Clean sheet may have seen him awarded with a 10/10.
Sven Botman: 8/10
The Dutchman put in another performance proving why he could be one of the bargains of the season. Showed equanimity on the ball, often finding away through The Irons' press. Showcased his usual range of passing and was successful with 81% of his attempts. Won all but one of his aerial and ground duels. Arguably at fault for Zouma's goal, however he was blocked from following his runner by Kehrer.
Dan Burn: 7/10
Bowen did cause the left-back some trouble throughout the game, often exploiting his lack of pace - however he still managed the winger reasonably well. Burn won most of his ground duels and made the most tackles on the pitch (6). Looked slightly leggy late on, and was substituted for Matt Targett.
Sean Longstaff: 7/10
The 25-year-old put in a solid performance where Howe had him playing a box-to-box role that put his athleticism and stamina to test. However, it was mission successful for the Englishman.
Newcastle's number 36 had the highest passing accuracy on the pitch (90%) and played a solid role defensively, nullifying Paqueta. Although he did not get a chance today, Longstaff made some impressive attacking runs into the box in the second-half and goals will soon follow.
Bruno Guimarães: 8/10
As usual the Brazilian was composed on the ball, and helped progress Newcastle's attack up the pitch. He was successful in playing passes through the lines and was accurate in eight out of the nine long balls he attempted.
Showed great spatial awareness and with his flair, was able to play through the West Ham press easily. Also assisted Joelinton's second of the evening with an impressive through ball.
Joelinton: 8/10
Bar showing small signs of unfitness, which was expected, the number seven's game could not really be faulted. Scored a brace, courtesy of a well timed-run for his first, followed with great composure to take it around the keeper and a cultured finish for his second.
Was a powerhouse in the middle and also showed his versatility to play left-wing. Near-perfect comeback game.
Jacob Murphy: 7/10
Probably should have scored his chance late in the second half, but could only force Fabianski to make his second save of the night. Was slightly more composed on the ball today, but is still relatively one-dimensional going forward, and would need to up his technical ability significantly if he was to stay as a regular starter in a fully fit Newcastle squad.
However, he is proving to be a great squad player who continues to create chances down the right, as well as providing cover for Trippier.
Callum Wilson: 8/10
This was more like the pre-world cup Wilson that Newcastle fans loved. He was strong in his hold-up play and effectively linked-up well with Murphy and Saint-Maximin, as well as dropping to a more false nine position when needed - creating passing triangles with NUFC'S midfield trio.
Showed great movement to create himself space for his first goal, which he headed home rather well, hitting the corner of the goal. Completed his match contributions by scoring United's third of the match, and bagging himself a brace. Overall, Wilson looked a lot fitter and will undoubtedly rival his Swedish teammate for that starting role.
Allan Saint-Maximin: 8
Showcased his fancy footwork and agility when he easily passed Benrahma with a step-over and then beautifully assisted Wilson's first goal with a pin-point accurate cross - reinforcing the Frenchman's effectiveness on the opposite wing.
Was good in his decision-making and looks to be moulding into Howe's tactical framework more and more. Just needs to keep this consistency and try to add goals to his game.
Substitutes:
Anthony Gordon: 7/10
Looked sharp when he came on and was successful in all of his 14 passes and dribbling attempts. Pressed the ball well and helped the defence, often tracking back.
Joe Willock: 7/10
Added even more energy to Newcastle's attack when he came on, often skipping past Coufal by exploiting the left-back's lack of pace, and used his usual athleticism to keep up the high intensity late on in the game.
Alexander Isak: 8/10
The in-form striker came on and put up a display that matched his previous performances, showcasing to the league why he is one of the best up and coming talents from Sweden. He topped his highly-energetic display with Newcastle's fifth of the evening, after a great first touch and a dink outside the box, following Fabiański's mistake.
Also worth mentioning he followed in Willock's footsteps by celebrating in a Thierry Henry-esque manner while simultaneously mimicking the West Ham keeper.

Matt Targett: N/A
Came on with only a few minutes to go for the tired Dan Burn, and contributed well to the defence. Good to see the defender return to full match fitness following his two-month injury.
Javier Manquillo: N/A
Again, the Spaniard came on very late for United and only touched the ball three times. The little time he had on the ball, he was accurate with it.

