Saint-Maximin belter earns Newcastle draw

Allan Saint-Maximin has struck a thunderous last-minute volley to rescue a point for Newcastle in a 1-1 draw at Wolves in the Premier League.

Also in Sunday’s action, Pablo Fornals’ deflected second-half strike helped West Ham end their winless start to the league season with a 1-0 victory at Aston Villa that put more pressure on the losing manager Steven Gerrard.

At Molineux, Ruben Neves broke the deadlock for Wolves in the 38th minute, rifling a shot from distance through the legs of Joe Willock and into the net to cap off a brilliant move that shifted from one wing to the other.

Newcastle had to do without record signing Alexander Isak, who arrived from Real Sociedad for a reported fee of Stg 59 million ($A101 million) last week, as his work permit did not come through in time, leaving the 22-year-old Swede to watch the game from the stands.

Raul Jimenez looked to have set the home side up for their first win of the season when he put the ball in the net in the 81st minute, but the effort was ruled out after a VAR review found that Pedro Neto had fouled Ryan Fraser in the build-up.

Saint-Maximin had looked a shadow of the player who had been Newcastle’s greatest attacking threat this season.

That all changed, however, when he smashed in a volley from the edge of the area, and the visitors almost grabbed all three points from a stoppage-time corner, but substitute Elliot Anderson’s header struck the crossbar.

“We work hard in training, I try to put more things in my game and I practise a lot with the trainer to help me hit that volley,” Saint-Maximin told Sky Sports.

“I have a lot of people around me to kick me and put me out of the game, so I am very happy to score!”

Second-bottom of the table with two points, Wolves are still looking for their first win of the season.

In a poor game at Villa Park, the 76th-minute effort by the Spanish playmaker Fornals helped the Hammers open their account for the top-flight campaign after losses to Manchester City, Nottingham Forest and Brighton.

It only heightened the tension for Villa boss Gerrard, who watched his side struggle to create opportunities and heard them booed off at full-time.