signing a record Aleksandar Mitrovic fluffed his lines for Fulham, and after he did, old friend Alexander Isak headed Newcastle back into the top three of the Premier League.
A spirited 1-0 victory at St. James' Park was achieved by the Ł60 million striker's third goal for the team, but only after Mitrovic, a former fan favorite on Tyneside, had a successful penalty call reversed for double touch.
As a result of extending their unbeaten league streak to 14 games, Eddie Howe's team, who polarized opinion by starting Joelinton despite his midweek arrest for drink-driving, passed Manchester United back into third place in the leaderboard.
However, Fulham can feel unfairly treated after frequently making threats on the counter and frustrating their opponents for extended periods of time.
After cutting inside in response to Joelinton's flick-on, Joe Willock curled a third-minute attempt wide. Two minutes later, Sean Longstaff, who had pounced on Bruno Guimaraes' deft reverse pass, was denied by an important block by Issa Diop.
As the visitors reacted, Mitrovic was similarly stopped at the other end, but full-back Kenny Tete could have done better with his follow-up shot from the edge of the box, which he sailed high over.
Andreas Pereira and Willian were beginning to make an impact behind Mitrovic as Fulham started to gain control of the game, but Callum Wilson's shot was deflected across goal in the 21st minute after Miguel Almiron had passed Sean Longstaff in behind full-back Layvin Kurzawa.
As Newcastle picked up the pace, Wilson headed Kieran Trippier's cross into the arms of goalkeeper Bernd Leno, and 12 minutes before halftime, Willock crossed the ball but the striker was unable to make any kind of significant connection.
Longstaff, Almiron, and Trippier's combination down the right of the Magpies was working well, but with six minutes left in the half, they went straight down the center, and Leno made a nice reaction save when Wilson shot straight at him in stoppage time after spinning on Fabian Schar's pass.
In the 51st minute, Wilson missed the goal with a firm header from Trippier's corner after Guimaraes had twice received treatment for an ankle injury during the first half before leaving the field in tears. Wilson was later replaced by Allan Saint-Maximin.
In the 61st minute, Schar was unfortunate to see a free-kick rebound off the post, but Almiron's attempt from the ensuing rebound was sneaked to safety. However, after a VAR review of Trippier's challenge on Bobby Decordova-Reid, Marco Silva's team mistakenly believed they had gone in front.
Mitrovic took the penalty after a protracted delay, but only with the aid of a double-contact, and referee Robert Jones quickly disallowed the goal to grant the home team a fortunate escape.
With 13 minutes left, Saint-Maximin shot narrowly wide from 20 yards as the home team tried to take advantage of their reprieve. With seconds left in regulation, they did exactly that when substitute Isak headed home from point-blank range after Wilson had sent the ball back across goal.
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