Newcastle sit in third place after pilling onto Southampton’s misery at St. Mary’s. The Saints didn’t have an answer for the Magpies attack and hardly had chances to score when they did finally get the ball. Newcastle have now won four straight matches and taken points from all road contests this season outside their 2-1 loss at Anfield.

Here are your Top 3 Magpies from the 4-1 thrashing of Southampton.

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Chris Wood

Despite the final score, a result for either team was still up for grabs through 55 minutes. Newcastle did have a one-goal cushion, but Southampton were building confidence after the break and were playing in-front of a hungry home crowd. Then, Chris Wood put the fixture out of reach for the Saints and three points in the bank for the Magpies.

Joe Willock returned a ball to Chris Murphy who sprinted into the 18-yard box. Two defenders converged on the midfielder and the ball awkwardly settled at the feet of Chris Wood whose back was to the net. Wood took a half turn and steered the ball perfectly into the side-netting.

Had Bruno Guimarães not scored a stoppage-time screamer, Wood’s goal would have been the best of the match for me. However, Wood’s goal came at a crucial time in the match. Ultimately, the goal led to Southampton having to change their tactics for the rest of the match and by proxy lead to the final two goals.

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Miguel Almirón

There goes that man again!

Almirón opened the scoring at St. Mary’s with a wonderful 30-yard run into the box. The winger sent a defender to his knees before he slotted the ball into the bottom left corner. After Almirón sent the away supporters into a frenzy, he ran over to celebrate with them in a scene that looked more like a Saturday on the Tyneside than the south coast.

In his four prior seasons at St James' Park, Almirón scored nine league goals. Not even halfway through this season, the Paraguayan has scored eight in the Premier League. If it weren’t for Erling Haaland’s insane 18 goals in 12 matches, Almirón would have easily been the plaudits pick for best Premier League player prior to the international break.

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Kieran Trippier

There is a famous idiom that states the only things in life that are certain are death and taxes. Generally, people add a third word to the saying to indicate that a third thing is also inevitable. In the Magpies’s case, it would be “Almirón, Trippier, three points”. If Trippier and Almirón play well, that is typically enough for Newcastle to get a result.

As has been the case this season, Newcastle maintained their clean sheet while Trippier was on the pitch. Less than 10 minutes after the right-back went off, Southampton scored a goal in large part due to Trippier’s replacement, Javier Manquillo. However, Trippier made his best contribution on Joe Willock’s goal.

Right as Southampton looked to be making a late push for a draw, Newcastle nicked the ball away on the left side. The play was reversed to Trippier who dribbled past a Southampton defender before giving a perfectly weighted through ball to Willock. Willock didn’t have to break stride to catch up to the pass that left him one on one with the keeper. Willock eventually scored and gave Trippier his third assist of the season. Trippier is now tied for lead for most assists and goal contributions among Premier League defenders.

Newcastle play twice this upcoming week prior to the international break for the World Cup. The Magpies have a midweek clash against Crystal Palace in the third round of the League Cup. Then, Newcastle were given a prime-time TV slot to play Chelsea at St. James' Park on Saturday.