Newcastle United kept their European hopes alive by dispatching helpless Burnley 4-1 on Saturday at Turf Moor.

Eddie Howe’s side showcased their attacking might by racing into a 3-0 lead after just 40 minutes.

With certain personnel back from injury, Newcastle were able to start Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak, Callum Wilson and Jacob Murphy together.

Added to that, you had Harvey Barnes and Miguel Almiron coming off the bench, with Joelinton and Nick Pope also returning from long-term injuries.

That’s why it shouldn’t be a surprise that the Magpies caused havoc from minute one and it could have been even worse for the hosts had Isak scored his penalty.

Ian Wright was keen to praise Newcastle and how they were ‘very good’ and also ‘very ruthless’ against the relegation-threatened team, as he told Match of the Day. 

The former striker also wanted to point out and highlight the performance of Murphy and how he was ‘fantastic’.

The 29-year-old supplied two assists on the day and Wright stated that he ‘can’t be ignored’ amid the noise around his attacking teammates.

Jacob Murphy’s two assists

“Someone like Murphy had a fantastic game,” said Wright. “Two assists against Burnley. He can’t be ignored and how he featured in this game as well.

“Unfortunate there for Gordon there (missed chance in the first half). Maybe he should just try to hit the target. We see Burnley trying to play through and easily picked off. 

“I thought that Newcastle were very ruthless – They were very, very good. They smelt blood and totally demolished them.”

Underrated Jacob Murphy

Understandably so, a lot of talk is around Gordon, Isak, Wilson when he is fit and even Barnes.

But a player like Murphy always tends to go under the radar because his footballing brain is outstanding, technically he is very strong and he has versatility in his game.

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Not only that, he can be trusted in various roles, including playing at right-back recently because of injuries, out on the flanks and in the middle of the park.

But from his 18 Premier League matches this season, he has six assists and two goals and has only completed 90 minutes on five occasions.