Bruno Guimaraes struck late on to deliver Newcastle United a somewhat undeserved 1-0 victory at Craven Cottage this afternoon, the win boosting the Toon’s hopes of European football.
The 26-year-old Brazilian found the back of the net in the 81st minute – five minutes after his side had a goal chalked off by VAR – to move Newcastle a point behind West Ham and Manchester United in the Premier League standings.
Eddie Howe’s men had to weather an intense storm from Fulham in the first half with Marco Silva’s side entering the break with 10 shots to their name. The Cottagers ended with 67% possession to their name but nothing to show for it.
How the game unfolded
Referee Sam Allison’s stopwatch had barely reached the 10-minute mark when it appeared that Fulham were on the verge of scoring, with Willian having two opportunities to find the back of the net.
First, the veteran midfielder saw a shot blocked by Sean Longstaff, before he quickly seized the rebound only to pull the ball wide of the target.
Joao Palhinha should have sent the home support into celebration shortly after but his strike too sailed past the woodwork.
As the game approached the half-hour mark, Rodrigo Muniz came close to getting the ball over the line after taking it down inside the area with some Brazilian flair, while down the other end, Alexander Isak’s touch let him down in a favourable position to score and Anthony Gordon occasionally got himself to the byline with support in the box slow to arrive.
Into the second half, Newcastle were much improved and Harvey Barnes was able to inject some fear into the hosts when he came on for an uninspiring Jacob Murphy.
The visitors thought they had got themselves in the ascendancy with 15 minutes of normal time left to play after Gordon’s floated cross to the back post fell to Fabian Schar, who took a touch and guided it past Bernd Leno. However, following a VAR check, Dan Burn was adjudged to have pushed Calvin Bassey and the goal was chalked off.
Nevertheless, a broken deadlock was not far away and a clever back-heel from fellow substitute Elliot Anderson into Barnes’ path resulted in a dangerous cross that Antonee Robinson could only half-clear. The ball fell kindly to Guimaraes, who hit the ball fiercely off the ground, leaving Leno with no chance.
In a desperate bid to win a game they should have had tied up earlier in the afternoon, Fulham sent on forwards Armando Broja and Raul Jimenez.
But, with confidence stemming from their goal, Newcastle saw out nine minutes of stoppage time at the Cottage, introducing Paul Dummett and Matt Ritchie in that time to make the three points certain.
GK: Bernd Leno – 6/10 – Smart and sensible. Consistently made the right pass out from the back and was largely untested in the first half. Unfortunate to concede.
RB: Timothy Castagne – 7/10 – Got forward at the right times and could have had an assist to his name if Joao Palhinha was a tad more accurate within the opening 20 minutes.
CB: Calvin Bassey – 6/10 – The quietest of all of Fulham’s defenders but played simple and effective football.
CB: Tosin Adarabioyo – 7/10 – Used his height to his advantage, winning several aerial duels.
LB: Antonee Robinson – 7/10 – Exhibited his pace up and down the left side and released possession at the correct times.
CM: Joao Palhinha – 7/10 – A strong leader in midfield and very vocal to his wide players. Should have hit the target early on – still seeking his first goal at Craven Cottage this season.
CM: Tom Cairney – 7/10 – Creative from the middle of the park and always looking to send his teammates on their way upfield rather than passing backwards.
RW: Alex Iwobi – 7/10 – Scarily quick and skilful. Gave Lewis Hall a torrid afternoon on the wing.
AM: Andreas Pereira – 6/10 – Could have, and probably should have, scored after the half-hour mark.
LW: Willian – 7/10 – As impressive as fellow wide man Iwobi. Still so threatening on the attack at the age of 35.
CF: Rodrigo Muniz – 6/10 – Gave the Newcastle centre-backs plenty of problems. Had some good attempts in the final 10 minutes of the first half.
Substitutes
SUB: Sasa Lukic (65′ for Cairney) – 6/10
SUB: Harry Wilson (65′ for Willian) – 6/10
SUB: Adama Traore (65′ for Pereira) – 7/10
SUB: Armando Broja (85′ for Palhinha) – N/A
SUB: Raul Jimenez (86′ for Muniz) – N/A
Subs not used: Marek Rodak (GK), Tim Ream, Harrison Reed, Bobby De Cordova-Reid.
Manager
Marco Silva – 7/10 – Will be wondering how his side finished this clash as losers for all the chances that they had on home soil. A tremendously frustrating result for Fulham who are targetting a top 10 finish in the Premier League.
GK: Martin Dubravka – 6/10 – Had a much better second half after appearing to struggle with a knock in the opening 45 minutes.
RB: Emil Krafth – 5/10 – Struggled to deal with Willian and Iwobi’s pace.
CB: Dan Burn – 6/10 – Did reasonably well on his return to the centre of the backline. Did barge Bassey in the back, however, which meant Schar’s goal was disallowed.
CB: Fabian Schar – 5/10 – Went down a few times in the first half with an injury but was able to run it off. Finished sweetly in the 75th minute before the goal was chalked off through VAR.
LB: Lewis Hall – 5/10 – Struggled against Iwobi. Afternoon was made harder for the young man when Traore came on.
CM: Joe Willock – 5/10 – Off before the end of the first half due to injury. Had a somewhat forgettable performance with several of his passes mistimed or overcooked.
CM: Bruno Guimaraes – 7/10 – Looking to avoid a suspension so was walking a tightrope for a lot of the game but arrived in the box at the right time to score the game’s solitary goal.
CM: Sean Longstaff – 6/10 – Did his job reasonably well but could have been more aggressive in Fulham’s box.
RW: Jacob Murphy – 5/10 – Didn’t set the world on fire with most of the Toon’s football being played on the opposing flank.
CF: Alexander Isak – 5/10 – More isolated than not throughout the 90 minutes and couldn’t keep up his hot streak of scoring.
LW: Anthony Gordon – 8/10 – Newcastle’s most creative player and you can see why Gareth Southgate called him up.
Substitutes
SUB: Elliot Anderson (40′ for Willock) – 6/10
SUB: Harvey Barnes (65′ for Murphy) – 7/10
SUB: Paul Dummett (90+5′ for Hall) – N/A
SUB: Matt Ritchie (90+5′ for Gordon) – N/A
Subs not used: Loris Karius (GK), Mark Gillespie (GK), Alex Murphy, Joe White, Amadou Diallo.
Manager
Eddie Howe – 7/10 – Deserves credit for how he’s managing Newcastle’s injury crisis but will be quick to admit his side’s performance wasn’t great today and maybe they didn’t deserve the win. Nevertheless, this victory keeps the pressure on West Ham and Manchester United in the battle for European football.
Player of the match – Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United)
