Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle United make it five wins in a row

“It’s another good win because it’s not easy to win in this competition. We played really well in the first half,” former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Chelsea boss Benitez said.

Brighton won 1-0 at Wigan Athletic with a goal by Dale Stephens taking them into second spot above Norwich City who lost by the same score at home to Preston North End. Norwich dropped to fourth, below Huddersfield who beat Derby County 1-0 with a stoppage-time strike to inflict the first defeat on the Rams since former England manager Steve McClaren returned to the helm earlier this month.

Aston Villa, the other team to be relegated last season along with Newcastle and Norwich, continued their revival under new manager Steve Bruce with a 1-0 home win over Fulham.

Villa have taken seven points from nine under Bruce and have moved up to 16th in the table.