Low-key West Ham transfer spotted with Newcastle United as Bruno Guimaraes ‘lucky’ in 2-2 draw - five things

Newcastle United injury boost as low-key West Ham transfer spotted with squad

Newcastle were handed a welcome injury boost as the team bus arrived at the London Stadium and Callum Wilson emerged after missing the three matches prior with a hamstring injury.

Joelinton remained out with his hamstring issue along with Sven Botman, Joe Willock and Harvey Barnes. Anthony Gordon’s suspension forced Magpies head coach Eddie Howe to make one change from the side that beat Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 ahead of the match as Elliot Anderson came into the side on the left-wing.

But with Newcastle’s options limited out wide, they opted to bring Under-21s’ winger Amadou Diallo with the squad as a ‘21st man’. The 20-year-old left West Ham’s academy and joined Newcastle last year but is yet to feature in a first-team match.

Had there been any late injury blows ahead of the match, Diallo would have been named on Newcastle’s bench.

‘Lucky’ Bruno Guimaraes and Newcastle United

After such an impressive period for Newcastle heading into the match, it was a poor start at the London Stadium. Jamaal Lascelles failed to track Emerson’s run and Nick Pope was too easily rounded by the Italian, who pulled the ball back for Tomas Soucek to tap into an empty net.

At 1-0 down early on, things almost went from bad to worse for Newcastle as Bruno Guimaraes committed two fouls in quick succession. The first on Emerson warranted a yellow but the Brazilian escaped a booking for bringing down James Ward-Prowse moments later.

It was Guimaraes’ fourth booking of the Premier League season so far as he remains just one more yellow card by Newcastle’s 19th Premier League match away from suspension.

West Ham boss David Moyes felt Guimaraes was ‘very lucky’ to remain on the pitch while Eddie Howe felt it would have been ‘incredibly harsh’ for referee John Brooks to send off his player.

Ultimately, the midfielder remained on the pitch and played a role in getting Newcastle back into the game.

Alexander (Isak) the great?

Newcastle struggled in the opening 45 minutes but quickly pegged West Ham back after the restart. A free-kick routine saw Alexander Isak pounce to draw The Magpies level following a VAR check.

And just five minutes later, a ball over the top from Guimaraes was volleyed brilliantly across goal by Kieran Trippier for Isak to turn in and give his side a 2-1 lead.

It was the Swede’s sixth Premier League goal of the season, seventh in total, with only Manchester City’s record-breaking striker Erling Haaland netting more so far in the league this campaign.

And for Trippier, it was a sixth assist in his last four matches from right-back. Ahead of the match, the London Stadium announcer declared Hammers right-back Vladimir Coufal as ‘The King of Assists’. If that’s the case, what does that make Trippier?

Isak had a golden chance to put the game to bed and grab his hat-trick inside the final 20 minutes after being slipped through by Dan Burn. The 23-year-old forward rounded goalkeeper Alphonse Areola before seeing his tight-angled strike hit off the post.

And Newcastle were left to rue the missed opportunity as West Ham’s ‘King of Assists’ laid the ball off for substitute Mohammed Kudus to drill into the bottom right corner in the 89th minute to draw the hosts level.

“[Alexander] Isak’s hat-trick opportunity was probably the defining moment,” Howe said afterwards. “He’s an outstanding player, the first in particular is an outstanding finish. He is unlucky not to score the third but they are the small margins.

“We made mistakes in midfield that allowed them to have the space that they did [to make it 2-2].”

A potential injury concern as ‘emergency’ change made

Before West Ham’s equaliser, Isak’s chance to net a first hat-trick for the club ended as he was withdrawn for Callum Wilson in the closing stages.

Explaining the change, Magpies boss Howe revealed it was due to a knock suffered by Isak.

“Callum couldn’t have started the game and couldn’t have played longer than he probably did,” Howe told The Gazette. “I really only wanted to use him in an emergency but Alex signalled that he had to come off so [Wilson] was the natural replacement.”

Howe hopes Isak will be fine and be available for the Crystal Palace match at St James’ Park after the international break. The Magpies will also have Gordon back from suspension while the likes of Joelinton, Willock and Botman are nearing returns with the break giving them extra time to recover.

What a month for Newcastle United

A late equaliser away from home puts a slight dampener on things as a win would have capped off a near perfect month for Newcastle.

The final match before the last international break saw Howe’s side head into it with a dark cloud over them following three consecutive league defeats. But it’s quickly brightened up for Newcastle over the past month with some historic matches and wins.

Anyone would have taken Newcastle picking 10 points from their next four Premier League matches after the last international break, including their biggest ever away win in the league at Sheffield United. When you add a historic 0-0 draw against AC Milan in the San Siro and 4-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain at St James’ Park in the Champions League as well as a 1-0 Carabao Cup win over Manchester City, the bigger picture looks so much better.