'Very special' Bruno Guimaraes issues Newcastle United statement after Crystal Palace win
Bruno Guimaraes broke the deadlock as Newcastle United beat Crystal Palace at St James’ Park.
Bruno Guimaraes stepped up when Newcastle United needed him most to clinch a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Chasing back-to-back Premier League wins for only the second time this campaign, the Magpies’ captain broke the deadlock in the 71st minute before Malick Thiaw added an all-important second goal seven minutes later.
It was the sixth home game Guimaraes has scored in this campaign and the fourth that has led to a victory - the only exceptions being the 3-2 defeat to Liverpool and the 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Brazilian opened the scoring in wins over Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Palace and netted a late winner in the 2-1 win versus Fulham in October.
Bruno Guimaraes is ‘very special’ - Eddie Howe
“Bruno's a very special player, special person, special character,” Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said after the game. “Very positive, he's got great energy, and today he played a captain's role because that game was always going to be decided by very key moments in the game and he's come up with a big one for us.
“He's done it countless times and I think your big players normally decide big games. And today was a big game for us, decided by a huge player in our recent history.”
The 28-year-old has started 18 Premier League matches this campaign and Howe hasn’t once taken him off.
“I suppose it's a subconscious thing,” Howe replied. “It's not necessarily a conscious thing to say I'm never going to take Bruno off, or take any player off the pitch if I feel it benefits the team. It's not about the individual person, it's about what they're giving the team.
“And it's a subconscious thing that I feel he's contributing in whatever way that I figure that's important in that moment. He's just got that big character and that dependability that I don't really want to lose from the team when he's playing well.
“Today in that type of game, I want him to have more influence. That's why I ended up moving him deeper, because I wanted to get him on the ball more, I wanted him to have more influence on the game, and I felt with the substitutions that we made, I think the team improved and we gained more control with him in that position.
“Ultimately then he scores the goal from a set-piece, but I think he's been brilliant in recent weeks.”
Bruno Guimaraes posts message on social media after Newcastle United win
Away from St James’ Park and Guimaraes has scored once, a goal in stoppage time that secured a 3-1 win away to Burnley last Tuesday. Consecutive wins for Newcastle has saw them climb up to ninth in the Premier League table, two points below the top five.
Guimaraes wrote on Instagram: “We finished 2025 in the best possible way and started 2026 even better! Happy with the three points and another goal. We’re giving everything we have to achieve our objectives this year. Howay the lads! 3️⃣9️⃣🖤🤍”