'Together' - Bruno Guimaraes delivers passionate Newcastle United statement after 4-3 win v Leeds United
Bruno Guimaraes played a key role in Newcastle United’s 4-3 comeback win over Leeds United.
Bruno Guimaraes’ passion was there for all to see as Newcastle United left it late to come back and beat Leeds United 4-3 at St James’ Park.
The Magpies came from behind three times before Harvey Barnes snatched all three points in the 102nd minute.
Brenden Aaronson gave the Whites the lead in the 32nd minute but Newcastle immediately hit back through Barnes. Dominic Calvert-Lewin then restored the visitors’ advantage on the brink of half-time when he converted the penalty that Malick Thiaw gave away for a handball.
Thiaw was hooked at the break and Sandro Tonali was also withdrawn as Eddie Howe introduced Sven Botman and Tino Livramento. Less than 10 minutes into the second half Joelinton again drew Newcastle level by heading in Guimaraes’ outside-of-the-foot cross.
Newcastle were rocked by Fabian Schar’s ankle injury and fell behind shortly after the 34-year-old was stretchered off when Aaronson broke clear to his second of the night.
At that point, the victory looked to be heading Leeds’ way but the 10 minutes of stoppage time gave Eddie Howe’s side time to only equalise but win it too.
Aaronson handled Lewis Hall’s cross inside the box and Guimaraes converted his spot-kick before Barnes found a winner. The victory saw the Magpies climb to sixth in the Premier League table, the highest position they’ve been all season.
Bruno Guimaraes issues passionate message after Newcastle United’s win v Leeds United
A goal and an assist, captain Guimaraes once again played a major role in his team’s victory.
Newcastle have won their last three Premier League matches against Burnley, Crystal Palace and now Leeds, with Guimaraes scoring in each of those. The Brazilian now has eight goals for the campaign, which is already his best return in a single season.
As Newcastle’s players and staff went on their post-match lap of honour, Guimaraes was at the front of the pack gearing the crowd up. Clearly emotional and passionate, the 28-year-old put his feelings into words with a post-match message to supporters.
Taking to Instagram, Guimaraes, in all capitals, wrote: “IT’S ABOUT PASSION FOR THE GAME, FOR FOOTBALL, FOR THIS TEAM, AND FOR MY TEAMMATES! WHAT A FOOTBALL MATCH—WHAT ADRENALINE, AND WHAT AN INCREDIBLE ATMOSPHERE. A GAME TO REMEMBER.
“THIS TEAM IS A FAMILY, AND WE WILL FIGHT TOGETHER UNTIL THE LAST SECOND. PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS. HOWAY THE LADS 🖤🤍3️⃣9️⃣”
Eddie Howe pays tribute to his Newcastle United players
In his post-match press conference, Howe paid tribute to his players’ ‘never say die’ attitude.
He said: “I sort of said to the players after the game, I don't want to talk about any negatives because that wasn't our finest performance, we're well aware of it, but I want to focus on the positives, the comeback win, we haven't done that, the late goal, we haven't done that enough.
“Never say die spirits togetherness, the unity, we've got some special players here and it's about trying to get them in the right place to produce their best football and it's only by winning games that you can truly get into that position, so that win will do us the world of good.”