Ten-man Newcastle United grinded out a 1-0 win over newly-promoted Southampton in their Premier League opener at St James’ Park.
Fabian Schar was red carded half-an-hour in when he was adjudged to have headbutted Ben Brereton-Diaz. However, the home side went on to take the lead against the run of play when Joelinton scored on the brink of half-time.
The Magpies put every man behind the ball in the second-half and relied on Alexander Isak to counter forward. There were some nervy moments but Eddie Howe’s men held out for three points.
Bruno Guimaraes captained Newcastle as he lined up a three-man midfield of Joelinton and Sean Longstaff. Tino Livramento got the nod ahead of Kieran Trippier at right-back while Anthony Gordon started on the left hand side of attack.
Southampton had the ball in the net 10 minutes in through Jack Stephens but the goal was quickly disallowed for offside.
The Saints were on top and were handed an extra-man advantage when Fabian Schar was sent off in the 30th minute for a dubious headbutt on Ben Brereton-Diaz. There was a VAR check but Craig Pawson’s on-field decisions stood.
And from then on, tempers flared. The visitors continued their dominance but Newcastle dramatically took the lead when a mistake from goalkeeper Alex McCarthy saw Alexander Isak set up Joelinton just before at half-time.
Here’s our Newcastle United player ratings:
9. Jacob Murphy - 5
Kept quiet by Kyle Walker-Peters before being sacrificed after Fabian Schar red card. | Getty Images
10. Anthony Gordon - 5.5
Understandably lacked match sharpness after arriving back late from international duty.His least effective display for a long time. | Getty Images
11. Alexander Isak - 7
Set up Joelinton for the opener and was Newcastle's outlet when they counter attacked. | Getty Images
12. Emil Krafth (on for Murphy, 30) - 7
Made some important blocks as Newcastle had their backs against the wall. | Getty Images