This was more like the stylish, forward-thinking Fulham that Marco Silva had reintroduced to the top flight over the past three years. The Whites, still smarting from letting valuable points slip away against Ipswich Town and West Ham United in recent weeks, ended Newcastle’s unbeaten start to the season with an impressive 3-1 victory at a sunkissed Craven Cottage. Summer signing Emile Smith Rowe showed just why he was worth the £27m initial outlay with a creative masterclass, but Fulham were still sweating until well into stoppage time when Reiss Nelson scored his second goal in as many games to make sure of the three points.

Fulham still needed a disallowed Newcastle goal – with Joelinton’s powerful finish at the second attempt from Joe Willock’s cross ruled out for offside – to bring them to life and Silva’s side opened the scoring from their very next attack. Raul Jimenez, who scored on his first league start of the season against the Hammers last weekend, started and finished a flowing move. The Mexican veteran spread the play intelligently to Adama Traore on the right flank and the Blackcountry connection paid dividends with Jimenez spinning away from Fabian Schar and rifling an unstoppable finish into the bottom corner.

Smith Rowe then took centre stage, surging onto a clever inside ball from Alex Iwobi, to crash a superb shot against the crossbar with Nick Pope completely beaten. Iwobi lifted a lovely pass over former Fulham centre half Dan Burn to release Jimenez, who was denied by an instinctive and acrobatic save from the England goalkeeper. Joachim Andersen had a header blocked from the subsequent corner before Antonee Robinson shanked the rebound well wide.

Iwobi tested Pope from the edge of the box before Jimenez lifted a finish over the bar having raced into the box to reach a cut back from Robinson. The hosts were utterly rampant and fully merited the second goal that arrived when Iwobi exploited Fulham’s numerical advantage on the left side, streaking into a dangerous position before picking the perfect moment to slip in his former Hale End team-mate Smith Rowe, who prodded past Pope’s left hand.

Jimenez might have made it three before the break but lashed over from Sasa Lukic’s lofted pass. Newcastle barely threatened as an attacking force with Leno only extended by a tame shot from Harvey Barnes and the Whites finished the first period on the front foot with Pope using his feet to deny Traore after a rampaging run along the right before the goalkeeper did brilliantly to claw away a long-range effort from Andersen.

Howe made two changes at half time with Lewis Hall replacing Lloyd Kelly, who had a first 45 minutes to forget, and Jacob Murphy on for Willock. It paid dividends barely twenty seconds after the restart when Murphy played in Barnes as Andersen and Sander Berge, who had come on for Lukic, switched off with the winger scoring his third goal in three matches by shooting across Leno into the far corner.

That meant the remainder of what looked like being a comfortable afternoon anxious viewing for the Fulham faithful. Iwobi could have made it much relaxing had he shot either side of Pope rather than directly at the Newcastle stopper after reaching a fine cross from Traore in oceans of space at the back post. Raul’s deflected overhead kick forced another superb save from Pope, before Smith Rowe screwed horribly wide from a short free kick.

Newcastle looked far more dangerous as an attacking force the longer the contest went on. They almost benefited from a calamitous Leno goal kick that saw a sleepy Smith Rowe robbed by Schar inside the penalty area but the centre half somehow stabbed a finish the wrong side of the post. Leno spread himself superbly to deny Anthony Gordon and Murphy almost conjured up an equaliser after sprinting inside Robinson but shot just over the bar.

Kenny Tete blazed into the side netting when the recently introduced Rodrigo Muniz seemed a better option square of the Dutch full back before Iwobi snatched at a volley from Nelson’s cross and skied it over the bar. Muniz crashed an effort over the bar from just outside the box and the nerves frayed a little more when the fourth official’s board displayed six additional minutes. But Silva’s side remained resolute and Guimaraes played a horrible square ball that deflected off Muniz and fell to Nelson, who made no mistake to the tangible relief of the Hammersmith End.

FULHAM (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, A. Robinson, Andersen, Bassey; Lukic (Berge 45), Pereira (Reed 67); Traore (Nelson 74), Iwobi, Smith Rowe (Diop 84); Jimenez (Muniz 74). Subs (not used): Benda, Castagne, R. Sessegnon, Cairney.

BOOKED: Tete, Lukic, Traore, Pereira, Reed, Leno.

GOALS: Jimenez (5), Smith Rowe (22), Nelson (90+2).

NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier (Livramento 74), Kelly (Hall 45), Schar, Burn; Joelinton (Tonali 74), Willock (Jacob Murphy 45), Guimaraes; Gordon (Osula 83), Barnes, Isak. Subs (not used): Dubravka, Krafth, S. Longstaff, Almiron.

GOAL: Barnes (46).

REFEREE: Peter Bankes (Merseyside).

ATTENDANCE: 25,700.