No team in Europe’s top five leagues had scored more home goals than Brentford this season, and the Bees took just seven minutes to notch their 23rd in front of their home fans, as they struck first in a pulsating opening 45 minutes.
Bryan Mbeumo still had a lot to do when he picked up a raking cross-field ball from Christian Nørgaard, but the in-form forward created space for himself and curled a strike beyond Nick Pope.
Having already hit the crossbar before falling behind, the opener caught the away side cold, but they responded quickly when Alexander Isak showed a killer instinct by heading home Jacob Murphy’s shot.
The big Swede should have put his team in front midway through the first half, as he rounded Mark Flekken in the Brentford goal but delayed getting his shot away, which allowed the goalkeeper time to scamper back and avert the danger.
Harvey Barnes was at the centre of all things good and bad in the remaining action of the first half, as his wayward pass went straight to Yoane Wissa, who repeated Mbeumo’s feat as he cut inside and struck an unstoppable hit beyond Nick Pope.
However, once again the Bees’ sting proved temporary, as Barnes made something out of nothing by striking a low finish beyond Flekken from a tight angle.
It was a goal that signalled the start of a strong finish to the half for the Magpies, with Murphy heading wide from a good opportunity after excellent work from Barnes.
With both teams knowing that a victory could catapult them into the low-margin slugfest that is the top half of the PL table, Thomas Frank’s men started the second half stronger, and they struck the woodwork when Pope palmed the ball onto the post from Wissa’s deflected cross.
It was an unheeded warning sign for the visitors, as less than 10 minutes later Flekken’s long, straight free-kick was allowed to bounce in the box, and Nathan Collins applied a tidy finish to put his team ahead for a third time.
Having picked themselves up twice, momentarily there seemed to be no fight left in the men from Tyneside, as the home team poured forward in search of a fourth goal.
However, eventually Eddie Howe’s side rallied in the closing stages, with substitute Sandro Tonali heading over from Isak’s cross to squander his team’s best chance of another equaliser.
The only act left of a thrilling match was for Kevin Schade to sprint through the Newcastle defence and stroke home a fourth goal, to make it another thumping home victory for the goal-hungry Bees.