Following Newcastle United’s 1-0 victory against Fulham, star Bruno Guimaraes did not mince his comments.
Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe told his players at halftime that their performance against Fulham was far from satisfactory.
But his sentiments were repeated by veteran players, with Bruno Guimaraes emphasizing that the first-half performance cannot be permitted. Bruno had decided not to speak after the 1-1 draw because he was “too angry” on Tuesday night, but he spoke up after scoring the goal in the capital.
Bruno told reporters, “The first 20 minutes were not good enough from us, but after that, and then in the second half, everyone gave an unbelievable performance.”
“We had a poor start, both with and without the ball. We gave them plenty of time between the lines and on the ball. We weren’t Newcastle United. At halftime, the manager suggested a few changes, and in the second half, we were Newcastle United.”
Eddie Howe explains why Elliot Anderson did not start against Fulham
Anderson’s performance against Everton suggested he’d done enough to earn a starting spot at Craven Cottage. However, Howe stunned some people by naming Joe Willock in his place and staying with Sean Longstaff.
Harvey Barnes was also benched after scoring two goals and assisting once in his previous two games. After the game, Howe was eager to explain his reasoning, telling Chronicle Live: “It wasn’t a difficult decision; Harvey had just returned from injury and played 90 minutes, and I wanted to protect him. And Elliot had a serious injury, so it was a case of looking after him and keeping him fit for the long term.”
West Ham keep up the pressure as Newcastle stay eighth
For a portion of the afternoon, Newcastle was in seventh place and might at least claim a Europa Conference League spot. However, West Ham’s victory at Wolves keeps the pressure on Newcastle, who remain a point behind.
Not only was last weekend’s triumph over the Hammers crucial, but the narrow and ugly victory at Fulham has also extended the dream for another week. Newcastle is still within striking distance, but they need to win at least four or five games and hope West Ham slips up somewhere.
There’s also the possibility of the Europa League, although Newcastle would need Manchester United to falter in the run-up. Unlike last season’s battle for Europe, this term’s situation is precarious.
