Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has admitted that his side made "mistakes" after they suffered a shock 3-1 home defeat to Fulham this afternoon.

Tom Cairney opened the scoring for the visitors with just 15 minutes on the clock, while 16-year-old Ryan Sessegnon bagged a brace in the space of eight second-half minutes to complete a comfortable victory at St James' Park.

Despite the defeat, the Magpies remain top of the Championship on goal difference, while Slavisa Jokanovic's side have cut the gap on the top six to just two points.

"We knew it could be a difficult game, and we knew we had to do well at the beginning and not make mistakes," Benitez told the Shields Gazette after the game. "But we started making mistakes, and we paid for that.

"Fulham are a good team – they passed the ball well and they have pace. We were giving the ball away, and that was giving them the chance to play in the way that they like to play.

"When you have tried and have made mistakes, you have to analyse why. It is not as though the players were not trying in terms of effort.

"Sometimes, it is just the wrong decision, and that is something we have to improve. In terms of effort, you could see we were running and working very hard."

Next up for Benitez's side is a trip to struggling Birmingham City next Saturday.