Newcastle United suffered their first defeat of the 2024-25 Premier League season with a 3-1 defeat at Fulham. And with that, Eddie Howe’s side missed the opportunity to temporarily go top of the table.
First-half goals from Raul Jimenez and Emile Smith Rowe put the hosts 2-0 up at half-time. Harvey Barnes scored immediately after the restart and Fabian Schar missed a sitter to equalise.
Reiss Nelson then wrapped up the victory for the Cottagers after capitalising on a mistake by Bruno Guimaraes.
Alexander Isak overcome a toe injury to start in West London as Eddie Howe named four changes from the 2-1 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Joe Willock and Kieran Trippier made their first Premier League starts of the campaign, replacing Sean Longstaff and Tino Livramento. Meanwhile, Lloyd Kelly and Harvey Barnes were preferred ahead of Lewis Hall and Jacob Murphy.
The Magpies headed into the game having won their last five meetings at Craven Cottage but fell behind in the fifth minute when Raul Jimenez scored. It came immediately after Joelinton saw a goal ruled out for offside as a result of Joe Willock’s mis-timed run.
Emile Smith Rowe then hit the crossbar before doubling his side’s lead in the 22nd minute via a howler by Nick Pope.
United were fortunate not go further behind before half-time and Howe reacted by bringing on Jacob Murphy and Lewis Hall in place of Willock and Kelly.
Murphy made an immediate impact by playing in Barnes, who found the bottom corner less than 60 seconds after the restart. It should have been 2-2 when Schar squandered a gift by goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Nelson then added a third during stoppage time to make it 3-1.
Our writer Jordan Cronin was at Craven Cottage - and here are his Newcastle United player ratings:
1. Nick Pope - 5
Was praised to the hilt after his Wolves display but had a moment to forget at Craven Cottage. A howler to let Emile Smith Rowe’s tame shot slip past him although he did his best to make amends with a point-blank save to deny Alex Iwobi. | Getty Images
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2. Kieran Trippier - 6
Showed some composure when his centre-backs didn’t. | Getty Images
3. Fabian Schar - 4
Easily turned by Raul Jimenez for the opener five minutes in. Struggled from then on and lacked his usual quality on the ball. A shocking miss at 2-1. | Getty Images
4. Dan Burn - 5
Had made a solid start to the campaign but has slowly regressed in recent games. Caught out numerous times defensively. | Getty Images