Tonali shows his class in "massive win" for Newcastle United in the capital
West Ham United v Newcastle United – Match Report
HT score: 0-0 FT score: 0-1
Bruno Guimaraes, Newcastle United’s captain and match winner, was unambiguous in his response to Newcastle United’s 1-0 victory at West Ham on Monday. It was a “massive win, massive win, a great team performance.”
Eddie Howe’s heroes pulled off a crucial win over an in-form West Ham team keeping their Champions League dreams alive and more importantly going into their Carabao cup final against league leaders Liverpool with a new found confidence.
Magpies close the gap
With this result, Newcastle close the gap on Chelsea to just two points and go level with Manchester City in the race for 4th position.
West Ham on the other hand, are in need of a reset with their hopes of finishing mid-table being severely disrupted with their loss on Monday night.
The tone of this matchup was set early on, with both West Ham full backs, Aaron Cresswell and Aaron Wan-Bissaka firing multiple crosses into the box.
A missed opportunity
It took only 45 seconds before Thomas Soucek was presented with an opportunity to give the Hammers an early lead. A dangerous cross fired in by Kudus was deflected into the Czech’s path but he blazed his shot over the bar.
Newcastle took time to grow into the game with tensions high amidst their previous performance against Brighton. They lost that game 2-1 after multiple goals were ruled offside.
However, the Magpies were well and truly on top of this game toward the back end of the first half as Alphonse Areola pulled off two really difficult saves at the expense of Harvey Barnes. Areola’s heroics denied Barnes from scoring his first goal since getting on the scoresheet in the away game at Brentford in December.
The second half was dominated by Newcastle as they carried on from their success at the end of the first half with their forwards probing constantly against a West Ham backline that looked extremely vulnerable throughout the whole game.
Bruno sends Toon fans wild
After a blocked shot from Harvey Barnes was deflected back into his path, he readjusted himself smartly and clipped a ball delicately over the defence from just outside of the box. Bruno Guimaraes reacted quickly to get on the end of Barnes’ cross and divert the ball home, sending the away fans wild after a vey difficult week.
As the final whistle drew closer it was clear who stood out from the rest. Sandro Tonali had won 100% of his midfield duels and attempted 45 passes with an 81.8% accuracy.
Coupled with his relentless work ethic, which has been apparent all season, Tonali’s performance earned him my player of the match. The signs are that there may be even more to come from the influential Italian.
Tonali’s season heatmap highlights just how much ground he covers and that he does most of his work across the full width and length of the midfield third.
Alongside Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes had an inspirational game. Ultimately winning the Sky Sports - Monday Night Football - Man of the Match award - Guimaraes’ goal sealed the deal and he controlled the flow and tempo of the game.
Winning multiple fouls, Guimaraes clearly demonstrated his ability to win free kicks and extended his total to 82 fouls won, miles ahead of anyone else. The importance of Guimaraes giving his side a break in the latter phases of the game should not be underestimated.
Sadly, for West Ham it just was not meant to be, with only two stand-out performances, from Mohammed Kudus and Alphonse Areola. Alas it was not enough to overhaul Newcastle.
Kudus was the only real bright spark offensively and Areola saved the Hammers from an even more painful defeat with jaw dropping saves that made even the away side question how it only finished 1-0.
My MOTM – Sandro Tonali
By Mikey Paine
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