Newcastle United have started the season in style following a 2-0 victory against newly-promoted Nottingham Forest at St James' Park.
Fabian Schar broke the deadlock before the hour mark with a wondergoal from distance before Callum Wilson sealed all three points on the opening day with a deft finish in the 78th minute.
Here are five things we learned from the game.
READ MORE: Newcastle United vs Nottingham Forest highlights
A glimpse of Newcastle's future as Eddie Howe's side dominate
It's early days, of course, but this felt like a glimpse into Newcastle's future - a day after Eddie Howe signed a new long-term contract with the club. Newcastle made real strides out of possession last season, becoming a nastier, harder to beat outfit, but Howe and his staff have worked on what they can do on the ball in pre-season in an effort to become more comfortable in possession. Newcastle, after all, only had more of the ball than the opposition on nine occasions in the Premier League under Howe last season, averaging just 41% of possession in the process.
Howe wants his side to stamp their authority on the game moving forward - pressing high, playing out from the back and becoming more dominant with the ball - and Newcastle did just that against Forest: racking up 62% possession, 23 shots and 11 corners. In the first half alone, 205 of Newcastle's 261 passes were successful, an unimaginable statistic not so long ago, with the impressive Bruno Guimaraes particularly influential in the middle of the park. Forest, in contrast, were unable to even force Nick Pope into a save and, such was Newcastle's dominance, the hosts should have won this game by a far greater margin.
Most strikingly, in contrast to a year ago, when Newcastle flagged in an opening day defeat against West Ham, the Magpies had the bank of match fitness to finish the game strongly and build on Fabian Schar's opener as Callum Wilson made it 2-0 with a clever finish late on..
Yes, Forest may be a newly-promoted side, but these games are never straightforward on the opening weekend, particularly with Steve Cooper's side having so many new faces, and Newcastle have not been good starters in recent years. However, after failing to win a game until December last season, the Magpies are already up and running.
Centre-backs respond to Sven Botman's arrival as Schar screamer
Eddie Howe felt Sven Botman was ready to play. You only had to look at the new signing's performances in pre-season to realise why, whether it was Botman's composure in possession, his technical ability or the sheer stature of the 6ft 4in defender.
However, no one is guaranteed their place in this side - not even Howe's most expensive summer signing - and the Newcastle boss instead decided to ease Botman in on Saturday as Dan Burn got the nod at left-sided centre-back. Explaining his decision ahead of the game, Howe said he 'wanted to go with some stability from the back last year' as Burn partnered Fabian Schar in the heart of defence.
It proved a smart decision and Burn and Schar quickly picked up from where they left off last season. The former made crucial interventions to stop both Jesse Lingard and Brennan Johnson in their tracks in dangerous situations and when Newcastle needed a moment of inspiration in the final third, the latter was there to provide it after the break.
Picking up the ball 25 yards out, Schar let fly with a screamer into the top corner that left Dean Henderson with no chance - and took the roof off St James' Park as supporters chanted: ''E-I-E-I-E-I-O Up the Premier League we go'.
It was the perfect response to Botman's arrival from both Schar and, indeed, the solid Burn. Botman did eventually get the chance to make his Premier League debut, after replacing Bruno Guimaraes late on, but the new centre-back may face a little wait to get his chance from the off - just as Bruno did following his move from France earlier this year.
Nick Pope is Newcastle's new number one
Martin Dubravka may have kept hold of the number one shirt, itself, but it was summer signing Nick Pope who started the season as Newcastle's new first-choice goalkeeper.
Whereas in a previous era, when one Newcastle goalkeeper first learned he was going to be dropped in the media, Howe made sure to speak to his players ahead of naming his XI, recognising that 'big decisions need to be communicated'. While Howe stopped short of going into too much detail with those who missed out, the Newcastle boss gave them the key reasons why.
There really was little to separate the two shot-stoppers going into the new campaign but Pope's ability to rush off his line and sweep up may have just given him the edge as there are few better in the Premier League at doing just that. This, in turn, allows Newcastle to play a noticeably higher line and the Magpies' defenders know Pope is comfortable dealing with any loose balls in that danger area between the goalkeeper and his back four.
Newcastle fans did not get a glimpse of that, however, on Saturday because Pope was so untroubled. The new arrival could not have asked for a more straightforward debut as he started with a clean sheet.
St James' remains a fortress
Supporters had been back inside the stadium the previous week - more than 87,000 fans clicked through the turnstiles over the course of two days for the friendlies against Atalanta and Athletic Bilbao - but this was always going to be a special atmosphere for Newcastle's opening Premier League game of the season. For the first time in a long while, after all, supporters went into a new campaign with genuine optimism.
Wor Flags captured that feeling in the air before a ball was even kicked with another stunning display as Nina Simone played over the public address system and a giant banner was unfurled in the Gallowgate reading: 'It's a new dawn, it's a new day, it's a new life for NUFC and we're feeling good'.
Going by the atmosphere before kick-off, you would not have thought this was a game between a side who finished 11th last season and a newly-promoted outfit - even if it admittedly was Forest's first Premier League fixture since 1999. However, St James' has become a fortress for Newcastle for a reason and supporters continued to push their side on as they went in search of a breakthrough against Forest, and frustration never kicked in.
Newcastle have only lost one league game at St James' under Howe in 2022 and that was against Liverpool. Saturday was a reminder of why home advantage will continue to be a real weapon for the Magpies this season with 54 more points to play for at St James'.
Jesse Lingard gets quite the welcome
There may have only been two new signings in Newcastle's starting line-up, but Nottingham Forest fielded triple that amount in theirs, including one-time Magpies' target Jesse Lingard. Newcastle, of course, attempted to sign Lingard on loan from Manchester United in January and Howe has admired the England international for many years.
Newcastle still need a player like Lingard, as Howe continues his search for firepower, but the Magpies did not revisit the move earlier this summer for a reason. Yes, Lingard was a free agent, but the 29-year-old wage demands would have made him Newcastle's top earner and had an adverse effect on the dressing room amid fears other big names would have inevitably knocked on Howe's door asking for parity.
Lingard won't have needed any added motivation on his Forest debut, but you suspect the new signing was desperate to prove he was rightly the best paid player in the club's history. Newcastle, ultimately, managed to keep the Forest danger man quiet, however, and a section of Newcastle fans appeared to take delight in jeering his very first touch.
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