By Matthew Howarth
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe says Bruno Guimaraes is “capable of the unexpected” after the Brazilian scored a spectacular winner on his full Newcastle debut to down Southampton and stretch the Magpies’ unbeaten Premier League run to nine matches.
Guimaraes, who was making his first start for Eddie Howe’s side since joining the club from Lyon in January, sent a powerful back-heel volley into the roof of the net to earn the visitors a sixth victory in seven league games.
“I have to say, I haven’t seen too much of that, back-heeling the ball in from that range,” Howe said afterwards.
“The goal was something we probably didn’t expect from him but shows his technical ability. He is going to be a huge player for us.”
Saints had taken a deserved 25th-minute lead when Stuart Armstrong nodded home Mohamed Elyounoussi’s knock-back via a deflection off Dan Burn.
But Newcastle, who were without Allan Saint-Maximin and Joelinton on the south coast, equalised seven minutes later courtesy of Chris Wood’s first goal for the club, the New Zealand striker powering Jonjo Shelvey’s inswinging cross past the stranded Fraser Forster.
Che Adams rattled the crossbar with a thunderous first-half volley and Martin Dubravka was the busier of the two goalkeepers late on, but Guimaraes’ superb strike from Burn’s cushioned header ultimately proved decisive.
“I thought it was ‘welcome to the Premier League’ for Bruno – an end-to-end game, high in transitions and very physical,” added Howe. “It will be a really good experience for him.
“He’s a defensive midfielder, but a creative one. The reason we signed him was because we loved his way of playing, his eye for a pass and composure.”
Newcastle were three points from safety following a 4-0 home defeat to Manchester City in December, but are now in 14th place and 10 clear of third-bottom Burnley. They are also just four points off Southampton, who slipped to only their second home defeat of the season.
Reluctant to destabilise a team that has yet to lose in the Premier League in 2022, Howe had exercised caution with Guimaraes prior to Thursday’s visit to St Mary’s, restricting the January signing to just 41 minutes across five cameo appearances.
The Brazil international was brought into the side in place of in-form Joelinton, who was ruled out with a groin problem but could recover in time to feature against Chelsea on Sunday.
Operating next to Shelvey in central midfield, Guimaraes registered the game’s first attempt – a long-range drive that was blocked – and almost set up Joe Willock for a Magpies’ second late in the first half.
But the 24-year-old’s most important contribution came seven minutes after half-time, when he beat Forster with an outrageous flick that combined power, precision and sheer audacity.
Understandably perhaps, Guimaraes ran out of steam midway through the second half but was given a rapturous reception by the travelling Newcastle fans when he was replaced by Sean Longstaff.
Like Brighton at St James’ Park on Saturday, Saints enjoyed the majority of possession but failed to trouble Dubravka enough until the latter stages of the contest.
A Tino Livramento cross-shot almost caught out the Magpies goalkeeper as the game entered the final quarter of an hour, but the Slovakia international was able to prevent the ball from dipping underneath the crossbar.
Dubravka was called into action again from the resulting corner…
