It wasn’t easy but Newcastle United got back to winning ways at the perfect time on Monday night thanks to Bruno Guimaraes.
Newcastle United have struggled in recent weeks after nearly throwing a 4-1 lead away against Nottingham Forest before going on to lose to Liverpool and Brighton.
A confidence boost was desperately needed ahead of Sunday’s Carabao Cup final as, along with bad performances, Eddie Howe’s side have suffered agonising blows of Anthony Gordon, Lewis Hall and Sven Botman all being ruled out of facing Liverpool.
It was far from a classic match at the London Stadium but Newcastle emerged victorious thanks to Bruno Guimaraes’ decisive goal in the second half.
Sandro Tonali was the best player on the pitch but it was still a captain’s performance from the Brazilian, who led the celebrations at full-time and was even spotted singing along with supporters.
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
What Bruno Guimaraes did at full-time against West Ham
Guimaraes, alongside his teammates and the coaching staff, made their way over to pay tribute to the travelling fans upon the full-time whistle.
It’s the least the hearty supporters deserved after making the long trip to London on a Monday night just days before many will no doubt do it again for the final.
The win will make it all worth it, of course, and they could be heard singing loud and proud.
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They even got a bit of help from Guimaraes, who was captured singing along to ‘E I E I EI O’ and ‘Que Sera Sera’ by the Sky Sports cameras.
The fans in attendance loved it and cheered even louder when Guimaraes pumped his fists. Those who couldn’t make the journey will no doubt love to see it as well.
Guimaraes offers his thoughts on West Ham win
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Guimaraes explained why picking up the three points was so important.
He said: “Massive win. We want to fight for the Champions League again and it was a big win for us. Good character, keep the clean sheet.
“Very good, gets the confidence back with the final in the next days. Massive win. Very happy for the team performance. Very good.
“A little bit [team had lost confidence] of course, when we don’t win the game your confidence goes down a little bit, but when we play like that, we show the character of the team.”
The win sees Newcastle climb back above Brighton in the Premier League table to 6th, level on points with Manchester City and just two behind Chelsea in fourth.
With fifth place likely offering a Champions League place this season, there’s still a very strong chance the Magpies can qualify.