IN the space of seven sensational minutes, Allan Saint-Maximin might well have salvaged Newcastle United’s season.

The Magpies were struggling when Steve Bruce turned to both the Frenchman and Callum Wilson in the 57th minute at Turf Moor, trailing to Matej Vydra’s first-half opener and still smarting from referee Anthony Taylor’s failure to award a penalty when James Tarkowski’s high boot caught Sean Longstaff in the face.

A fraught end to the season beckoned, but within seven minutes of being on the field, Saint-Maximin had turned both this game and perhaps the rest of Newcastle’s relegation battle on its head.

First, with his first meaningful touch, he twisted and turned in the area before slipping the ball to Jacob Murphy, who rifled the equaliser into the top corner.

Then, just five minutes later, he picked up the ball from Jonjo Shelvey just inside the Burnley half and set off galloping forward. With two Burnley defenders backing off, he advanced towards the edge of the area, and after turning inside Tarkowski, he lashed a low finish past Bailey Peacock-Farrell.

It was a brilliant goal, and it means Newcastle are now six points clear of 18th-placed Fulham with a game in hand on the Cottagers. They are not safe yet; but things are looking an awful lot better than they were last weekend, when the Magpies briefly dropped into the bottom three as Fulham were beating Aston Villa.

There were other impressive performers in the Newcastle ranks, most notably goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, who made crucial saves either side of half-time and relieved the pressure on those in front of him by punching and catching a succession of crosses as Burnley became increasingly desperate in the closing stages. For the second game in a row, Sean Longstaff put in a tireless shift at the heart of midfield.

Ultimately, though, this was all about Saint-Maximin. Bruce has long maintained that Newcastle are a different proposition with their talismanic Frenchman on the field; on this evidence, he is absolutely right.