Newcastle defender Federico Fernandez scored a late winner as his side came from behind to beat Southampton at St James’ Park.
Fernandez fired in a rebound from close range after Sean Longstaff’s shot was parried by keeper Alex McCarthy.
His 87th-minute winner came after Jonjo Shelvey had cancelled out Danny Ings’ opener with a second-half header.
Newcastle have not lost at home in the Premier League since the opening weekend.
Ings, scoring in his fifth successive match for Southampton, latched on to a long ball which Newcastle had failed to clear and slotted it past Martin Dubravka.
That came after a bright spell for Newcastle at the start of the second half but the hosts were dragged back into the match by Shelvey – now the team’s top scorer in the Premier League with five goals – who was set up by a curling cross from substitute Andy Carroll.
Southampton responded and should have regained the lead through Ryan Bertrand, who missed a header from a few yards out at the back post before Ings came close to connecting with Shane Long’s low cross.
Nathan Redmond also missed chances for Southampton in the first half – he fired straight at Dubravka after picking up a loose pass and was denied again by the keeper when he struck powerfully inside the box.
Defeat leaves Southampton in the relegation zone – level on points with Aston Villa – while Newcastle break into the top 10.
Before the match Newcastle boss Steve Bruce described their run of fixtures in December – which, including Southampton, contained three teams in the bottom half of the table – as “season defining”.
They began the month with a 2-0 win at Sheffield United and go into next Saturday’s game at Burnley on the back of successive victories, scoring twice in each game.
Crystal Palace come to St James’ Park after that, before two potentially tricky fixtures against a revived Manchester United and Everton but Newcastle will be brimming with confidence after this energised run of results.
Things have slotted into place since Shelvey’s late equaliser against Manchester City and the midfielder was to thank again for his side’s turnaround in this match.
He keeps delivering big goals when it matters and Bruce will be boosted by Carroll’s cameo from the bench which included an assist.
Allan Saint-Maximin must be given huge credit too – he was the best player in the first half and remains a constant threat for Newcastle on the wing.
