Alan Shearer has picked out Bruno Guimaraes, Joe Willock, Allan Saint-Maximin and Fabian Schar as the star performers in what was a dominant display against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The all-time leading Premier League goalscorer gushed over our Brazilian gem who “never looks flustered”, praising his weight of pass, confidence on the ball and ability to control the midfield.
Since his arrival in January, the 24-year-old has barely put a foot wrong and is showing the kind of consistently high form you’d expect from a Champions League level player.
Schar has made several headlines for his stunning strike, so it’s also good to see Shearer give praise to Willock and Saint-Maximin – two players who put in a shift and caused havoc all afternoon against the newly-promoted Reds.
Speaking on Match of the Day, our club legend had this to say on those who shone alongside the “superb” Bruno Guimaraes:
“He [Guimaraes] was superb today. He wasn’t the only one.
“I thought Willock was magnificent, Allan Saint-Maximin dragged Newcastle forward and showed his skills.
“Fabian Schar with the moment that changed the game because they were frustrated when they got into the final third but man of the match for me was Bruno.”
“The way he handles the ball under pressure and is able to ping that ball into the forward players. He’s so comfortable on the ball, particularly if you give him this amount of space.
“His weight of pass was superb. The way that he controlled that midfield. They got into so many good areas because of his ability.
“He never looks flustered, he always looks in control of the ball and never panics. Newcastle have got a really talented player there and the fans love him and rightly so.”
This is also without mentioning the second goalscorer, Callum Wilson. He didn’t have many opportunities, but showed his lethal ability in front of goal with an outstanding finish to lob Dean Henderson.
Joelinton was also a battering ram in midfield, Burn barely put a foot wrong and Pope – without having a save to make – was quick to distribute and claim crosses.
Without getting ahead of ourselves, it looks as though we’ve got a great group of players and with the right additions – a winger and another forward – this type of praise and performance could become a regular thing.
