Wigan Athletic 0-2 Newcastle United
- Published
The opening goal was Mo Diame's fourth of the season, but first in the Championship
Mo Diame and substitute Christian Atsu scored in each half to take Newcastle back to the top of the table.
Diame opened the scoring when he ran from the halfway line, played a neat one-two with Isaac Hayden and slid the ball in from inside the area.
Atsu made the game safe nine minutes after coming off the bench when he scored from Yoann Gouffran's cross.
The Magpies had allowed Wigan back into it in the second half as Will Grigg went close with a header from a corner.
Newcastle came into the match knowing that a win would see them reclaim top spot by one point from Brighton, who won 3-2 at Blackburn on Tuesday night.
They made the breakthrough midway through the first half when Diame's powerful run took him to the edge of the Wigan area, where Hayden helped the former Latics player open the scoring.
The Magpies failed to capitalise on the lead however and let Wigan play their way back into the match.
However, the struggling hosts failed to really test Karl Darlow so the Newcastle goalkeeper kept himself busy by setting up the crucial second goal.
His clearance to the left wing found Gouffran and his cross eluded the entire Wigan defence, allowing Atsu the time to take a touch with his right foot before powering a fierce left-foot shot into the net.
The result leaves the Latics 23rd in the table, four points from safety.
Wigan midfielder David Perkins told BBC Radio Manchester:
"I thought we started a bit nervous, a bit anxious and then going 1-0 down the gaffer said at half-time we were going to go after them.
"We huffed and puffed a bit after the break and pretty much threw everything we had at them, but in the end the second goal kills us a bit.
"We've not been outplayed in many games here, but we find ourselves in the position we are, so we can't keep saying that week-in, week-out.
"It's just the win that's the most important thing we're under pressure for. The crowd were great tonight and were right behind us."
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez told BBC Newcastle:
"I'm really pleased as it was a difficult game and we knew we were playing against a team towards the bottom of the table, but at the same time, a team that was playing well.
"So, we needed to stay compact and work very hard in defence in order to be sure we could regain possession and play counter-attack.
"We did that more or less in the first half and in the second half, they pushed and made it more difficult.
"But, the changes we made gave us more pace and the second goal was perfect timing as we were suffering under pressure."