EDDIE HOWE WANTS CONSISTENCY FROM NEWCASTLE AFTER BIG MAN CITY PERFORMANCE
Eddie Howe warns Newcastle their Man City win "means nothing" if they fail against Marseille & Everton. Harvey Barnes' brace sealed a vital victory ahead of a crucial Champions League trip.
Newcastle's manager, Eddie Howe, cautioned his team that their uplifting victory against Manchester City will not mean much if they do not follow it up with good results against Marseille and Everton.
Howe's team broke a streak of two Premier League losses with a 2-1 win over Pep Guardiola's team at St. James' Park on Saturday night, in what was possibly their best showing of the season so far.
However, with a tough schedule that includes a Champions League game in the south of France on Tuesday night before Saturday's league game on Merseyside, head coach Howe understands that this is just the beginning.
"The real test is Marseille and Everton," he stated. "We now have to play a very tough opponent away in the Champions League, and we need to perform well.
"We will have very little rest, and that's the biggest challenge for us. Our schedule between now and the end of January is packed, so now the players have to take care of themselves; we need to regroup and continue."
Newcastle will travel with confidence after a performance that showed both their clear talent and the determination that has marked their return to prominence under Howe when they needed it most.
Harvey Barnes had already missed two great chances, and Nick Woltemade had been stopped twice by Gianluigi Donnarumma, before the former Leicester player exchanged passes with Bruno Guimarães twice before finally scoring against the Italy international after 63 minutes.
Rúben Dias scored the equaliser within five minutes as City responded, but Barnes scored the winning goal with 20 minutes left after Guimaraes was just barely played onside by Dias.
However, it was the character that Howe's team showed in defending their narrow lead until the final whistle—a period that included eight minutes of added time—that was perhaps most pleasing for the Newcastle supporters.
When asked if his team had rediscovered its edge, Howe stated, "Yes, possibly. You need that. For me, that means doing everything you can to win, so yes, I think you need a bit of fire in your game, but within the rules, of course.
"You don't want to see red cards, but you want to see us being really tough but fair in trying to do everything we can to win."
Full-backs Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento both played well on their returns to the starting line-up after injury before the former went off with cramp, but Anthony Gordon, who has been dealing with a hip problem, and fellow England international Kieran Trippier, who hurt his hamstring in training on Friday, were not in the starting eleven.
Howe stated, "Anthony is very close; he just wasn't quite ready for today. But he's working hard, and I think he'll be ready in the next few days. I'm not sure about Kieran. I'm waiting for feedback from the medical team."
UCL TEAM NEWS: EDDIE HOWE PLAYS DOWN INJURY PANIC AFTER KEY STARS MISS TRAINING
Football news: Newcastle vs Qarabag. Get the report on Botman’s fitness, youth debuts, and potential last-16 opponents.
Eddie Howe shared the latest on Yoane Wissa and Sven Botman after both players got back to training ahead of Newcastle’s Champions League clash with Qarabag.
The Magpies are back at St James’ Park for an 8 pm kick-off, looking to book their spot in the last 16. They made things easy for themselves with that huge 6-1 win in Baku last week; really, it’d take a total collapse for them not to go through now. No team in Champions League history has ever come back from five goals down after the first leg, so Newcastle look set, even with Howe planning a few changes.
Whoever wins will meet either Barcelona or Chelsea in the next round. We’ll find out the draw on Friday.
Malick Thiaw is suspended, and several others, Bruno Guimarães, Lewis Miley, Tino Livramento, Fabian Schär, and Emil Krafth, are still out injured. Wissa and Botman have each sat out the last three games, dealing with minor knocks, but both were back in training on Monday.
After Newcastle’s 2-1 loss at Manchester City, Howe explained, “We thought Botman would be ready. He just didn’t feel completely right, so we decided not to risk it. Hopefully he’s back on Tuesday, but we’re not totally sure yet.”
About Wissa, Howe added, “I don’t think he’ll be out for long; maybe he even makes the Qarabag game. He picked up a nasty knock in training, but I think he’ll be fine.”
On Monday afternoon, Howe gave another update: “We hope they’ll both be involved. We’ll see how they feel in the morning, but fingers crossed.”
Meanwhile, Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali weren’t seen out on the grass during training, but Howe quickly shot down any panic: “We just kept a few players inside today. No problems. Four or five guys just being careful.”
With such a big lead, this match is the perfect chance for Howe to rotate his squad. Alex Murphy, Leo Shahar, Sean Neave, and John Ruddy are the only fit players who haven’t started for Newcastle yet. William Osula has made some Champions League appearances off the bench but hasn’t started either.
Is it time for some fresh faces? Howe played it cool when asked, “Maybe. We’ll look at the squad and pick a strong team that wants to win. That’s the main thing.”
He went on, “We want to keep a good rhythm, and it’s a tricky balance resting players, making sure everyone’s fresh, but also making sure people don’t lose that match sharpness or the good feeling we’ve got going. I’ll try to make the right calls with all that in mind.”
REF CONTROVERSY: EDDIE HOWE FUMES OVER "UNFAIR" DECISIONS IN 2-1 LOSS TO CITY
Man City wins again! Discover why Eddie Howe is frustrated with the officials and how Nico O'Reilly's brace sank Newcastle.
_1771718192.webp)
Manchester City edged out Newcastle United 2-1 at the Etihad on Saturday night, and honestly, Eddie Howe looked frustrated after the final whistle. He felt his team deserved a bit more.
City took control in the first half, with Nico O’Reilly grabbing both their goals, one on each side of Lewis Hall’s deflected strike for Newcastle. After that, City just managed the game, saw out the second half, and picked up their 17th home win in a row against the Magpies in the Premier League.
This loss snapped Newcastle’s streak of three away wins, and they’re still sitting 10th in the table with 11 matches to go.
After the match, Howe was quick to praise his players’ effort. “The lads gave everything physically today,” he said. “It’s been a really tough run of fixtures for us, not just this week. Every time we step on the pitch, I want them to give absolutely everything to win. I can’t fault that today everyone left it all out there. I thought we played with a clear plan and a good style. We executed most of it well, apart from a couple of moments. The goals we conceded – those were down to individual mistakes; we just didn’t defend well enough.”
He admitted chasing a game at the Etihad is never easy. “It’s tough to do here, but I’m pleased with the effort,” he said.
But the frustration wasn’t just about the result. Newcastle had a goal chalked off for offside. Dan Burn got shoved by Ruben Dias into an offside position, but the flag still went up. And Burn took a nasty challenge from Bernardo Silva, who was already on a yellow, but somehow avoided another booking.
“I only saw the offside still frame, so I missed the push,” Howe said. “I don’t think we got the right end of the decisions today. I’m not someone who likes to blame officials all the time, but I do think things didn’t go our way again.”
Asked if he’d look for answers about the disallowed goal, Howe was honest: “I don’t know the rule there. I haven’t seen the push; if that’s what happened, I’ll look into it.”
In the end, City took the points and closed the gap on Arsenal to just two. Newcastle are left wondering what might have been.
Read More News