Leeds United tore into Newcastle United at Elland Road on Monday night, hammering the Magpies 4-1 to climb to third in the Premier League table and hand new Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle the first defeat of his young reign.

Three goals in a blistering 13-minute spell either side of the half-hour mark put the result beyond doubt. Ao Tanaka opened the scoring in the 32nd minute before Dominic Calvert-Lewin's looping header deflected in off a Newcastle defender for what was credited as an own goal, and Calvert-Lewin made sure of his own name on the scoresheet moments later, poking the ball home under pressure from two defenders. Noah Okafor put the game to bed with a first-time strike into a crowded box shortly after the hour, before Bazoumana Toure grabbed a late consolation for the visitors in stoppage time.

The result was Leeds' third win from four league games since their return to the top flight and lifted Daniel Farke's side to their highest points total through four matches since the 2000-01 season, when the club last challenged near the summit of English football. Leeds now sit on eight points, trailing only early pace-setters Arsenal and Manchester City.

A brutal night for the Magpies

For Newcastle, it was a first taste of defeat under Jaissle, the German coach who replaced Eddie Howe over the summer after a turbulent off-season that saw the club lose Anthony Gordon, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali. The Magpies arrived at Elland Road unbeaten in three, but were already missing winger Anthony Elanga to injury and never found an answer to Leeds' physicality in midfield.

"My boys were brilliant and we fully deserved to win the game," Farke said afterward, adding that his side had delivered "the perfect start right now with eight points."

Jaissle was candid in defeat. "We couldn't match that physicality in the first half," he said. "That was a key element." The loss drops Newcastle to 12th in the table on five points, a stark comedown for a club many pundits had tipped for a top-six finish.

Calvert-Lewin, the former Everton striker who joined Leeds as a free agent last year, has now scored in five straight league appearances at Elland Road. His movement and hold-up play were central to the rout, and pundits were quick to point to him as the difference-maker in a match Leeds dominated from the opening whistle.

The result is the latest sign that Farke's Leeds side, promoted back to the Premier League after a season in the Championship, are not simply making up the numbers. Four games in, they have already knocked off one of the division's presumed contenders in emphatic fashion, and Elland Road's atmosphere on Monday reflected a club sensing something more than survival is possible this season.

Both sides are back in action this coming weekend, with Newcastle needing a quick response to steady a season that suddenly looks far shakier than it did 24 hours earlier, while Leeds will look to prove their flying start is no fluke against tougher opposition in the weeks ahead.