Bruno Guimaraes hits back as Premier League issue Newcastle United & Aston Villa statement
Bruno Guimaraes questioned the decision to rule out his goal in Newcastle United’s 3-0 win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day.
The Magpies were leading 2-0 against 10-man Villa following goals from Anthony Gordon and Alexander Isak. The visitors played an hour with a man down after Jhon Duran was sent off for a stamp on Fabian Schar.
Guimaraes thought he had added a third in the closing stages when Ezri Konsa’s attempted clearance deflected off him. The Brazilian wheeled away in celebration, only for VAR to intervene and penalise Guimaraes for handball.
The Premier League Match Centre, which explains VAR decisions, posted on X: “82’ VAR OVERTURN. The VAR recommended that the goal was disallowed for a factual handball by Guimarães.”
While the ball did strike Guimaraes’ arm, the Newcastle skipper felt he ‘couldn’t have done anything differently’.
“What a game!!! What a performance by our team,” said the 27-year-old. “We remain strong in pursuit of our goal. Sad that my goal was disallowed; I couldn’t have done anything differently.
“What a screamer, @anthonygordon . Proud of my teammates. Thank you for your support, NUFC fans!”
The disallowed goal denied Guimaraes a fifth goal involvement in as many games having claimed two assists during the recent 3-3 draw against Liverpool and another in last week’s 4-0 win at Ipswich Town. Guimaraes scored his first goal of the campaign against Leicester City.
Fellow countryman and close pal Joelinton eventually added a third against Villa in stoppage time. The victory saw the Magpies up to fifth in the Premier League table ahead of Monday’s trip to Manchester United.