Swagger and substance as Toon roar into third
On he goes and on they go. Game by game, Miguel Almiron is proving himself a player with few limits and so are the wider collective of newcastle United.
As ever, it is necessary to avoid grand proclamations following big wins over struggling clubs. But if battering Southampton is an established rite of passage for the great and good, then eddie howe surged past another checkpoint as he approaches the one-year anniversary of his time in charge. That falls tomorrow, which enables a handy reminder that back then they were fighting relegation. With the wealth of Saudi Arabia powering their drill, they are digging an ever-deepening trench in the Premier League’s top four. Where it all leads in the short term of this season is harder than normal to forecast owing to the forthcoming World Cup, but indisputably a fine body of work is taking shape, with four wins in four, nine games unbeaten, and a pair of players in Almiron and Bruno Guimaraes who are burning white hot. It was fitting that those two bookended this win with excellent goals, which in the case of Almiron was his seventh in seven. In between, it was hardly newcastle’s best day and yet there were also goals for Chris Wood and Joe Willock, which supports the theory about good teams finding a way. Make no mistake about that — they are a seriously good team, with a strong attack and a defence that ranks numerically as the best in the division.
A time will surely come when the latter is better tested, particularly with regards to any vulnerabilities it might have to pace and precise throughballs on the break: for all the brilliance of Sven Botman and Fabian Schar in that back four, you do have to wonder. But Southampton were always unlikely to be the team, even if they did have moments, notably when Mohamed elyounoussi missed an open goal at 1-0 down. Maybe that changed the game and with it helped seal the fate of Ralph hasenhuttl, whose ongoing occupation of the job now appears to be best measured in hours and days. It will not have helped his chances that mutiny was spreading among the home fanbase towards the end of their eighth defeat this season.
But just as perspective ought to be applied to any side beating Southampton, so too it should be introduced when discussing teams thrashed by newcastle.
That they had won three on the trot coming into this one no doubt contributed to howe’s decision to make a single change to the team which crushed Aston Villa, with the enforced switch of Jacob Murphy for
Joelinton owing to the latter’s suspension. Perhaps mindful of further disruption to his attack, the newcastle manager (below) had opted to retain Callum Wilson, despite the striker saying earlier in the week that he was feeling ‘run down’.
For all his gifts, there are concerns around Wilson’s injury record, so there were raised eyebrows around his selection, particularly with a possible World Cup call- up this week. By that same line of thought, there was relief when he was substituted after a quiet first half, with howe putting it down to lightheadedness.
With Wilson limited, newcastle initially struggled to make use of their promising positions, before going ahead on 35 minutes through a delightful blend of substance and swagger. The substance came with the winning of a high ball to start the move, the style came from the one-touch rotation between Sean Longstaff and Wilson before Almiron embarrassed Ainsley Maitland-niles and rolled past Gavin Bazunu.
Southampton, paying for their wastefulness with a couple of good first-half chances, missed through Che Adams and elyounoussi at the start of the second. They were soon buried for it.
With Guimaraes masterful as their conductor at the base of their midfield, newcastle found holes easier to pick. Wood made it 2-0 with a shot on the turn and Willock got the third after some quality work by Kieran Trippier. The latter came off with what appeared a tight hamstring, which may have worried Gareth
Southgate in the stadium. howe said it was precautionary.
Romain Perraud pulled a goal back and perhaps Southampton deserved it. But football is rarely a kind gig and so they took one more slap before time was called, with Guimaraes rattling a fourth into the bottom corner from 25 yards. A lovely goal from a lovely player in an impressive team.
Dislodging newcastle from such heights will take some doing. SOUTHAMPTON (4-2-3-1): Bazunu 6; Perraud 6, Bella-Kotchap 5 (Caleta-Car 72min, 6), Salisu 6, Larios 6 (Lavia 33, 6); Ward-Prowse 6, Maitland-Niles 5; Walcott 5.5 (Edozie 64, 6), S Armstrong 5 (Aribo 64, 6), Elyounoussi 4; Adams 5 (A Armstrong 64, 6).
Scorer: Perraud 89. Booked: Lavia. Manager: Ralph Hasenhuttl 5.
NEWCASTLE (4-3-3): Pope 7; Trippier 7.5 (Manquillo 80), Schar 7, Botman 7.5, Burn 6.5; S Longstaff 6.5, GUIMARAES 8, Willock 6.5 (Saint-Maximin 73, 6); Almiron 7.5 (Anderson 81), Wilson 5.5 (Wood 46, 7), Murphy 6 (Shelvey 64, 6.5). Booked: None.
Scorers: Almiron 35, Wood 58, Willock 62, Guimaraes 90+1.
Manager: Eddie Howe 7.5
Referee: Stuart Attwell 7.5.
Attendance: 30,402.