Premier League, St James' Park -Newcastle 6 (Wijnaldum 14, 26, 66, 85,Perez 33, Mitrovic 64) Norwich City 2 (Mbokani 20, Redmond 34)
Georginio Wijnaldum scored four goals as Newcastle recorded their first Premier League victory of the season in style against Norwich City to lift themselves off the foot of the table and ease the pressure on beleaguered boss Steve McClaren.
The Dutchman netted twice in a frantic first half after combining with the superb Moussa Sissoko, who also fedAyoze Perez to score in a reinvigorated Newcastle attack, but old defensive frailties allowed Dieumerci Mbokani and Nathan Redmond to score and keep home nerves jangling at the break.
Norwich City laid siege to the Newcastle goal in the second half but it was the home side who proved more clinical on the counter, with Aleksandar Mitrovic lashing past John Ruddy before Wijnaldum scored twice more to make utterly sure of the Magpies’ first three points of the season.
McClaren went into the match knowing that anything less than an end to Newcastle's winless run would leave his team deep in the relegation mire and his job in serious peril, and his players produced an emphatic response to last weekend's humiliation at the hands of a Sergio Aguero-inspired Manchester City.
The win lifts Newcastle to within two points of Premier League safety and will provide a timely morale boost ahead of next weekend's Wear-Tyne derby against a Sam Allardyce-led Sunderland.
KEY MOMENTS
14' - GOAL! Newcastle 1-0 Norwich City. Huge goal for the home side and a just reward for a blistering start. Sissoko evades a challenge on the edge of the box before sliding the ball perfectly into Wijnaldum, who fires nervelessly into the bottom corner.
17' - CHANCE: Out of nothing Norwich City almost find an equaliser as Brady gathers the ball 25 yards out and hammers a shot that crashes off Elliot's post and bounces clear.
20' - GOAL! Newcastle 1-1 Norwich City. The visitors are level and it's a lovely team move. Redmond runs onto the ball on the left flank and clips in a pinpoint cross that is met by the outstretched boot of Mbokani, who pokes the ball beyond Elliot.
26' - GOAL! Newcastle 2-1 Norwich City. The home side lead again thanks to the combination of Sissoko and Wijnaldum. The Frenchman clips an inviting cross into the box and the summer signing rises highest to send a firm header past Ruddy.
33' - GOAL! Newcastle 3-1 Norwich City. The home side instantly counter Redmond's run and shot and Sissoko's pass sends Perez racing into the box. His first shot is blocked by Redmond but he re-gathers and fires into the bottom corner.
34' - GOAL! Newcastle 3-2 Norwich City. What a game this is. Olsson clips another cross in from the left that sails all the way over to the back post where Redmond, left completely unmarked, volleys brilliantly past Elliot. Steve McClaren shakes his head in disbelief.
Georginio Wijnaldum celebrates his fourth goal - Reuters
53' - OFF THE LINE! Brady's corner is attacked by Bassongand Mbokani at the back post and the header is blocked on the line by that man Wijnaldum.
64' - GOAL! Newcastle 4-2 Norwich City. Sucker punch for the visitors as Newcastle launch a rare counter and Sissoko lofts a perfect diagonal ball into the path of Mitrovic, who chests it down before lashing the ball past Ruddy. Massive goal.
66' - GOAL! Newcastle 5-2 Norwich City. Steve McClaren can surely breathe easily now as Wijnaldum completes his hat-trick, laying the ball wide for Janmaat before meeting his countryman's perfect cross with a firm header past Ruddy.
69' - CHANCE: Alex Neil's men will not give up and the excellent Redmond gathers the ball in on the corner of the area before unleashing a low shot that crashes off the foot of Elliot's far post.
85' - GOAL! Newcastle 6-2 Norwich City. It's a fourth for Wijnaldum and a goal fit to end any match. The Dutchman cuts in from the left and unleashes a shot from 25 yards that catches a kind deflection off the outstretched leg of Whittaker and flies into Ruddy's top corner.
KEY STATS
Georginio Wijnaldum is only the second Newcastle player ever to score four or more goals in a single Premier League game; the first was Alan Shearer against Sheffield Wednesday in September 1999.
Moussa Sissoko is only the second Newcastle player ever to register three assists in a single Premier League match; the first was Andy Cole in March 1994.
Newcastle v Norwich City saw eight goals scored; the most seen in any Premier League game this season.
TALKING POINT
Newcastle United's Dutch midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum (R) celebrates with Newcastle United's French midfielder Moussa Sissoko - AFP
Sissoko form key to Newcastle's survival bid. Wijnaldum will steal the headlines - and rightly so - after scoring four of Newcastle's six goals against Norwich City, and the classy Dutchman has unequivocally been Steve McClaren's most reliable and decisive performer so far this season. But it was the performance of Moussa Sissoko that really made the difference on Sunday. The Frenchman was everywhere, winning the ball back in his own half, driving his team forward and picking passes in the final third. Unlucky not to score himself, he had a had in all three of Newcastle's first-half goals and his chipped pass into the chest of Aleksandar Mitrovic for the decisive fourth was divine.
Sissoko's talent is not in question; at his virtuoso best he has taken apart far better opponents than Norwich City during his rollercoaster two-and-a-half years on Tyneside. But too often he has appeared content to epitomise the perception of Newcastle's foreign contingent as temperamental, disinterested and lacking in passion. With a Wear-Tyne derby against Sunderland on the horizon, Sissoko's return to top form could not be more timely - but McClaren will need it to be more than a fleeting Renaissance if Newcastle are to harbour serious hope of survival this season.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Georginio Wijnaldum (Newcastle) Sissoko ran him very close but four goals in a game does not happen every day, even in the Premier League; for a midfielder to achieve the feat is nothing short of sensational. Wijnaldum took the hopes and anxieties of St James' Park on his shoulders and seized every chance he got to secure his side's first victory of the season, combining brilliantly with Ayoze Perez and Sissoko throughout. A masterful display of midfield ambition.
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