NEWCASTLE After an outstanding victory over Brighton at St James’ Park, United are concerned about the fitness of two key players.
The Magpies’ 4-1 win over Albion was a significant step towards sealing a spot in next season’s Champions League, but the victory could have come at a cost.
Joe Willock was forced off hurt in the second half, while Joelinton also suffered an injury. Both are now doubts for Leicester City’s visit on Monday.
“The two Joes are a bit of a doubt for us,” Eddie Howe remarked. Joelinton was hit, and Willock appears to have a hamstring injury.”
Elliot Anderson came on for Newcastle when Willock was pulled off at a key point in the game, with Brighton having cut the lead to 2-1 and tensions rising.
“I think Elliot has been very unlucky,” Howe remarked. His most recent significant contribution to the club was game-changing at Nottingham Forest, where he helped turn the game for us with the support of the other players.
“Since then, other players have returned to fitness, and he’s found game time difficult to come by, purely due to the strength of the group.” We have a lot of faith in Elliot and a variety of other people. He demonstrated his versatility by coming on on the right side of midfield and performing admirably.
Howe was overjoyed with his team’s performance, which brought Newcastle to within two points of the Champions League.
Newcastle won thanks to an own-goal from Deniz Undav and a header from Dan Burn in first-half stoppage time. Undav equalized for Brighton, but Callum Wilson scored in the final minute before Bruno scored in stoppage time.
“I thought it was a brilliant performance out of possession from us,” Howe remarked. Really, very excellent. I think we were really good in the first half and unlucky not to score more goals, especially in open play.
“We were reliant on set-plays but you always fear with Brighton that the less they have to lose at 2-0 down the more difficult they can make it for you. I thought they were very good in the second half. We had to dig in and be resilient and see the game out.
“When you’re in my position, you need different ways to win; at this level, it can never be about pure beautiful football because teams will always pose a threat and pose problems.”
“Brighton have their own style of play, and it’s a really nice, brave style that I admire a lot.” It was our goal to disrupt their rhythm and prevent them from penetrating us as they had done to many other Premier League sides. I think we played extremely well there, and then we showed our quality and threat.”
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