Eddie Howe saluted one in every of Newcastle’s greatest performances of the season after watching them beat Manchester United to finish a gruelling week on a excessive.
4 days after struggling late heartache in a 1-1 Champions League draw with Paris St Germain, having dispatched Premier League rivals Chelsea 4-1 earlier than heading for France, the Magpies secured a 1-0 league victory over the boys from Outdated Trafford at St James’ Park.
Requested if that represented the right ending to a testing week, head coach Howe stated: “Sure it’s. I believe that’s one in every of our greatest performances of the season, for me.
“I believed we have been very, excellent on and off the ball and when you think about the week we’ve had and the tough video games we’ve had, the tip of the sport in Paris, what a response from the group of gamers.”
Anthony Gordon’s Fifty fifth-minute strike from Kieran Trippier’s cross in the end secured the factors on an evening when Newcastle largely dominated with out reward till his intervention.
Having been robbed of victory by a contentious stoppage-time penalty in Paris, they have been spared additional ache when Harry Maguire inadvertently turned Antony’s shot previous substitute goalkeeper Martin Dubravka, however from an offside place.
Gordon has now scored in every of his final 4 league video games on Tyneside and brought his tally for the season to 6 targets to reap the rewards of his exhausting work on the coaching pitch.
Howe stated: “He himself has actually labored on that.
“I’m actually happy as a result of I believed he performed rather well initially of the season, however each attacker wants to attain, must have that feeling and that confidence that that brings.
“It elevates your recreation, not simply the targets, however he’s getting assists as properly. He’s concerned in match-winning moments.
“I believed he performed rather well once more immediately. It was a very good cross from Kieran, a great crew transfer and a great end.”
The one disappointment for Howe was that goalkeeper Nick Pope, who has performed such a key position within the membership’s current success, suffered a dislocated shoulder late within the recreation and should now want surgical procedure.
Requested how lengthy he is perhaps sidelined, the 46-year-old stated: “It’s too early to say. He was in ache when the shoulder was out of its joint. It’s been put again in now and he feels rather more snug.
“We’ll search specialist opinion, nevertheless it doesn’t look good.”
It proved a tough evening for the guests, who’ve now misplaced to the Magpies of their final three encounters and infrequently seemed like avoiding that destiny till a late flurry.
Supervisor Erik ten Hag stated: “At the moment now we have to say ‘credit score to Newcastle’. After the beginning, the place we may have scored with (Alejandro) Garnacho, they have been higher than us, they have been extra proactive.
“We had to return, we needed to defend and we did that. We allowed them one aim, however on the finish, we fought again, we had two good alternatives, however unluckily we couldn’t take some extent from right here.”
England worldwide Marcus Rashford specifically lower a annoyed determine and was changed by Rasmus Hojlund with 29 minutes remaining.
Requested about Rashford’s kind, Ten Hag stated: “He works exhausting and he’s investing so much. He’ll get again, he’ll get well and he’s received all our assist.”
