Newcastle 0-1 Brighton: Danny Welbeck strike sends Seagulls up to fifth
Danny Welbeck's goal in the first half secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory for Brighton & Hove Albion against Newcastle United, allowing Fabian Hurzeler's team to climb to fifth place in the Premier League standings.
The home team controlled the match from beginning to end, holding onto the ball 60 percent of the time and taking 21 shots on goal. However, just 10 minutes before the half-time whistle, they were stunned when Brighton scored with a fast free kick that caught them off guard.
Newcastle: Pope (6), Livramento (6), Schar (6), Burn (7), Hall (7), Joelinton (7), Tonali (7), Guimaraes (7), Gordon (7), Murphy (7), Isak (6).
Substitutes: Barnes (7), Osula (6), Almiron (6), Willock (6), Longstaff (6)
Brighton: Verbruggen (7), Veltman (7), Julio (6), Dunk (8), Kadioglu (7), Rutte (7), Baleba (6), Ayari (7), Hinshelwood (6), Welbeck (9), Ferguson (6)
Substitutes: Enciso (6), Mitoma (7), Wieffer (6), van Hecke (6), Estupinan (6)
Player of the Game: Danny Welbeck
In an instant, Lewis Dunk sent a precise long pass that reached Welbeck, who was positioned perfectly. After a quick series of passes with Georginio Rutter, the striker charged into the penalty area and scored against Nick Pope, marking his fifth goal in just eight matches this season.
Newcastle made a couple of adjustments to their lineup, bringing in Alexander Isak and Tino Livramento. Harvey Barnes was placed on the bench, and Kieran Trippier was sidelined due to a hamstring injury.
Brighton saw the return of striker Evan Ferguson as Fabian Hurzeler made three adjustments to the lineup. Igor Julio and Yasin Ayari were brought in as starters, while Adam Webster and Yankuba Minteh weren't included in the matchday squad. Kaoru Mitoma started the game on the bench.
Eddie Howe is likely puzzling over how his team couldn't find the back of the net, as the Magpies have now gone four Premier League matches without a victory. Despite putting in a lot of effort, the home side didn't really challenge Bart Verbruggen in goal for Brighton, and Alexander Isak, back from a month-long absence, looked out of sorts.
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Insights From The Managers
Manager of Newcastle, Eddie Howe:
I'm feeling quite let down because I truly believe our overall performance for the first 65 minutes was impressive.
"I believe that was our strongest performance yet; we were incredibly dominant in the match. However, despite creating numerous opportunities, we failed to capitalize on them and ended up giving away a somewhat unfortunate goal to Brighton during their first genuine attack."
Naturally, we can only hold ourselves accountable for that situation. It's important for us to reflect on it and examine what went wrong. However, for the most part, our performance, particularly in the initial phases of the game, was quite impressive.
Manager of Brighton, Fabian Hurzeler:
"If Danny Welbeck keeps up his current attitude, he could have a long career ahead of him. We have another player who's almost 40, and he’s still giving it his all every single day. Danny shares that same dedication."
When I arrived, I could tell he was incredibly talented. He’s not just a skilled player; he’s also a fantastic teammate who's always there to lend support. His personality really shines through, making him a remarkable person off the field as well.
He understands how the team interacts and makes an effort to bring the players together. That matters a lot to me.
"He’s scheduled for a scan, and we should have more information soon. It seems like he might have taken a knee to the back from the opposing player. Fingers crossed it’s nothing serious, but we can’t say for certain yet. Let's wait to hear the results from the scans."
