Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes scored straight from a corner as 10-man Burnley's struggles continued at St James' Park.

Guimaraes' moment of inspiration and a penalty from Anthony Gordon inflicted a sixth consecutive Premier League defeat on Burnley, who had defender Lucas Pires sent off in the first half.

Burnley substitute Zian Flemming pulled one back from the spot in second-half stoppage time, after Newcastle midfielder Jacob Ramsey handled the ball, but it came too late for Scott Parker's side.

The Clarets made a fearless start but fell behind when Guimaraes stepped up on home soil once again.

With Burnley no doubt expecting Guimaraes to target a team-mate from Newcastle's first corner of the afternoon, the midfielder instead whipped the ball past former team-mate Martin Dubravka and into the far corner.

Guimaraes become the first Newcastle player to find the back of the net directly from a corner in a Premier League game.

Burnley crumbled and defender Pires was sent off just a few minutes later after taking down Anthony Elanga outside the area as the Swede raced through on goal following Gordon's defence-splitting pass.

Newcastle quickly made the most of the man advantage, earning a penalty deep into first-half stoppage time when Burnley midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu handled.

Although referee Stuart Attwell did not give a penalty initially, the official was sent to the pitchside monitor for a second look by the video assistant referee and ruled that Ugochukwu's arms were in an "unnatural position".

Up stepped Gordon, who sent Dubravka the wrong way to score his second penalty in as many games.

Newcastle pushed for a third after the break - forward Yoane Wissa made his debut for the club as a substitute after recovering from a knee injury - but Dubravka made smart saves to deny Guimaraes and prevent centre-back Maxime Esteve turning the ball into his own net.

Flemming made Newcastle sweat after scoring a penalty following another VAR intervention.

But Newcastle - not without a scare - saw the game out to briefly move up to 10th place. They later dropped a spot to 11th after Liverpool's draw at Leeds, while Burnley now sit five points from safety.

Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe, like Parker, had his hands on his head as the final whistle blew. For Howe, it was a case of relief rather than anguish.

Burnley substitute Josh Laurent had just glanced a header wide from Marcus Edwards' teasing cross in the final act of the game.

With memories still fresh of Newcastle conceding a 95th-minute equaliser against Spurs on Tuesday, the hosts narrowly avoided history repeating itself after Burnley set up the grandstand finish.

Newcastle have thrown away more points from winning positions than any other team in the Premier League. This time, though, they got over the line.

Howe's team have now picked up 10 points from a possible 12 over the past four games, which represents the club's best run of form in the Premier League since April.

The challenge now is to build on that, with a tasty Wear-Tyne derby to come next week at Sunderland.

Newcastle, who are just three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, only need to look at third-placed Aston Villa for inspiration to see just what is possible with a consistent run of results in a league that for now appears wide open.

A penny for Parker's thoughts at half-time.

Having seen his side more than hold their own in the opening half hour, the Burnley boss walked down the tunnel with his head down after the visitors conceded twice and went down to 10 men.

Parker had little option but to throw on defender Joe Worrall for forward Lyle Foster at the start of the second half to ensure the scoreline did not turn ugly.

Although Burnley keeper Dubravka had to make some important saves after the break, the visitors stayed just about in the game and even managed to make it nervy for Newcastle late on.

Flemming, who was unfortunate to drop out of the starting line-up, offered the perfect response to his omission by winning his side a penalty and then converting it.

Yet, as spirited a response as this was, there is a reason Burnley are where they are.

Nobody has conceded more goals in the Premier League this season (30) while the Clarets have only netted two in their past four matches.

That is a recipe for trouble.

Newcastle travel to Germany to take on Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Wednesday, 10 December (20:00 GMT) before taking on bitter rivals Sunderland at the Stadium of Light on Sunday, 14 December (14:00 GMT).

Burnley host Fulham at Turf Moor on Saturday, 13 December (17:30 GMT) before facing Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium on Saturday, 20 December (15:00).