Fulham 0-1 Newcastle: Player ratings as Bruno Guimaraes snatches victory for Eddie Howe's side
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.
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
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