Bruno Guimaraes issues 20-word statement - gives strict order to Newcastle United teammates

Eddie Howe’s men displayed their best performance of the season to grind out a point against the Premier League champions. The Magpies responded well after being trounced by Fulham a week earlier.

In that game, Guimaraes made a costly mistake in stoppage time to seal a 3-1 defeat but he was back to his marauding best on Saturday. The Brazilian was deployed in a more offensive role, leading the midfield press as Sandro Tonali and Joelinton played slightly deeper.

Guimaraes, embracing his new-found status as team captain, issued a battle cry on social media following the match - calling on his teammates to match that tone set against City in future games. He posted: “Very good standards for ourselves today! We must keep it going! I'm pleased with our performance today. Howay the lads.”

Howe echoed Guimaraes’ comments about Newcastle’s intensity levels at his post-match press conference. He said: “We are happy, especially after last week. That was a good display, that was us playing our way, brave. It was two teams going right at each other for probably 70 minutes. 

“(In the) last 20 minutes, they were stronger than us and we had to defend really well to maintain the point. It's difficult to define how people react in certain situations. 

“There is always going to be a lift here, especially against the opponent. There's a fear factor, you know you have to perform well or it could be very difficult. The challenge for us is to find that consistency and that's what we are working towards."