MusaOne almost got an assist and the other scored a vital goal today against Crystal Palace, but both Yoane Wissa and Bruno Guimaraes received high praise for their involvement in the Newcastle United win.
Newcastle thought they had taken the lead in the first half at St. James’ Park when Yoane Wissa selflessly squared the ball for Anthony Gordon to slot home. But, a VAR check proved Wissa was offside when the ball was played into him.
The game became a little bit stale for the next half an hour or so before Newcastle finally took a hold of matters. More specifically, captain fantastic Bruno Guimaraes grabbed the game by the horns and headed home the opening goal for the Magpies with around 20 minutes to go.
Both players scored highly in our Newcastle United player ratings for the day, and they’ve rightly been showered with praise from pundits watching the match, too.
Rob Elliot loved Guimaraes and Wissa link up
Watching the game for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3, former Newcastle United man Rob Elliot noticed something really interesting about the extra dimension Wissa offered the Magpies on the day.
He said: “Newcastle will be pleased that every time Bruno Guimaraes gets the ball, they manage to get Wissa in behind. He looks sharp and lively. It’s been good defending by Palace.”
That ties in with the praise Eddie Howe gave Wissa just last week with regards to his movement and the way he stretches other teams.
Commenting on the offside goal, Elliot was also really impressed with Wissa’s vision and unselfish approach to feed Anthony Gordon.
He added: “It’s brilliant from Wissa. I don’t think Gordon was expecting him to square it. His awareness to slide it to Gordon is great.”
Yoane Wissa still didn’t get enough service
Wissa put in a good showing today, even though he’ll be disappointed not to have made more of an impact in terms of actually producing goals (or assists).
In the first half, the £55m man registered just six touches, although they were pretty good ones during the sequence that led to him feeding Gordon.
He only had one shot in the whole 78 minutes he was on the pitch and failed to make anything of the one dribble he attempted. In the end, he managed just 13 touches, with two of those touches being unsuccessful, and Wissa also lost possession six times.
On paper, it wasn’t a good day for Wissa if you take Sofascore’s rating as the sole basis of your judgement. However, it was another promising display from the striker, and Newcastle fans should be excited about what he offers this team.
Musa
