Pep Guardiola offers Newcastle United Champions League truth amid fresh Alexander Isak blow


Pep Guardiola made one thing clear as he held court with the Newcastle press pack after the 1-1 draw with his all-conquering Manchester City side - that last season may have been a one-off for Eddie Howe and his team.

Hamstrung by 41 separate injuries, Howe's team sunk from fourth place to seventh in the Premier League but Guardiola, who has seen it all and worked with the best, sounded like a man who believes Newcastle are genuine contenders again this term.

Guardiola said before leaving St James' Park: "Newcastle last season struggled a little bit for just one reason; a lot of injuries. Otherwise, that team competes really well. Newcastle had moments in the first ten minutes and after their goal, but in general we played really good.

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"We made bad decisions at the last minute to make it 2-0. It is always difficult here with their physicality and they defend so deep. We had chances but [Nick] Pope was brilliant so we take the point."

A point is all it was for Newcastle and while they might have been considered fortunate to win it, it was a clear statement that Fulham was merely blip. The true test will be how Newcastle can compete at Everton next Saturday night as they aim to ensure they don't repeat what looks to be complacency at Craven Cottage eight days ago.

New Alexander Isak blow confirmed

The Sweden international missed the draw with Man City due to a broken toe and could now be facing an extended stint on the sidelines. A broken toe means that facing Wimbledon is already deemed too much of a risk.

And with an international break on the horizon, with Sweden keen to have their talisman for games against Estonia and Slovakia in the UEFA Nations League, Newcastle may not want to give former Toon striker Jon Dahl Tomasson any encouragement to call him up with just two more matches left before the top-flight pause.

Howe said last night: "He definitely won't feature on Tuesday. Let's see how he looks for Everton, and of course there's an international period coming up after that and he's an international player, so we'll see the implications of all that.

"But we'll make decisions during this week. We know it's not a serious injury, but it's a niggly one that's obviously preventing a key player playing for us."

Sandro Tonali injury fears allayed

The Italy midfielder was handed his first start of the season but retired slightly early in the game against Man City. In the build-up to the game Howe had warned he still had catching up to do in terms of physical work.

As Tonali left the field to a standing ovation with 13 minutes to go, there were a few injury concerns from the Newcastle faithful. But Howe stated: "You can still see Sandro’s got a little bit of fitness work to do to get to his best; he comes off with cramp."

More minutes in the tank against Wimbledon won't do Tonali any harm on Tuesday night but Howe will consider a few changes against the League Two outfit.