Harsh reality for Newcastle United, luck runs out and form concern - national media verdict

Eddie Howe gives instructions to Anthony Gordon
-Credit: (Image: Getty Images)


Newcastle United saw an opportunity to sit top of the Premier League pass them by as a poor first half performance in the capital was punished by hosts Fulham. The Cottagers went on to record a 3-1 defeat as Eddie Howe's men tasted league defeat for the first time this season.

Instead of looking down from the summit this Sunday morning, the Magpies are looking up from sixth place on what is a congested top of the Premier League table after five games of the season.

After what was a disappointing loss, we take a look at how some of the national media saw yesterday's game at Craven Cottage.

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Luke Edwards - The Telegraph

"Perhaps this result had been coming for Newcastle. They have not been playing well but have kept grinding out results. That cannot last and this time Fulham punished their mistakes.

"This, though, was the worst performance so far. They were terrible in the first half in particular. Blunt in attack, leaky at the back and largely non-existent in midfield.

"While others make more convenient scapegoats on Tyneside, the likes of Bruno Guimaraes – whose ridiculous attempt to pass the ball across Newcastle’s area left Nelson with a simple finish in stoppage time – Joelinton, Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon also need to have a look at themselves."

BBC Sport

"With Manchester City and Arsenal playing on Sunday, Newcastle knew they could temporarily jump to the top of the table - an encouraging sight if not a realistic sign of where Eddie Howe's side are at. Even though they had not lost in their opening four league games, there remained a strong sense the Magpies were still far from their best.

"That view were substantiated in a first half during which Newcastle lacked solidity in their defensive shape and assurance on the ball to stem the tide. A disjointed display left cause for concern and Howe reacted by making a double change at the break."

Taha Hashim - The Guardian

"Newcastle could not take their chance. Three points would have maintained the unbeaten start to the season, taken them to the top of the table for the evening, raised the growing optimism after a turbulent summer. Instead, they were made to rue a poor first-half display against a delightful Fulham frontline, goals from Raúl Jiménez, Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson securing a home victory.

"The visitors never found their rhythm even if they set up a game for the second half, Harvey Barnes’s goal in the first minute after the restart making it 2-1. For the hosts, the worry was obvious: they had blown a lead last Saturday against West Ham through a late Danny Ings equaliser; would this be more of the same? But they hung on until Nelson’s goal in stoppage time, the substitute given an easy opportunity in the area after a wayward clearance from Bruno Guimarães."

Martin Lipton - The Sun

"Eddie Howe’s side could have travelled back to the North East on top of the pile for the first time since they led under Bobby Robson in 2001. But Pope’s horror blunder as he allowed Emile Smith Rowe’s soft effort to elude his grasp sent Newcastle spinning to their first defeat of the season.

"Despite a second-half rally after Harvey Barnes netted within 30 seconds of the start of the second period, the harsh reality is that the luck that had carried Howe’s men through an unbeaten four-game start was due to run out. And it did, as Newcastle paid the price for a wretched, ragged and woeful first half in which they were lucky to be only two down after Smith Rowe added to Raul Jimenez’s early opener."