Newcastle has regained their groove in Premier League this season. After the Carabao Cup defeat for Manchester United, the club lost two positions on the table and seemed to have lost impact.
It changed a few rounds ago, as the Magpies collect four wins in a row, including one against Manchester United and most recently a dominant match against West Ham.
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Brazilian flavor
Part of the teams’ success is credited to their Brazilian midfielders. Bruno Guimarães proved vital in giving magic touchs and ball control in the area, whereas Joelinton changed his whole game and found himself a vital player outside of the front line.
It was Eddie Howe’s request that the former striker changed his style and it proved to be right. If Joelinton was saw as a player that did not achieve what he could, now there are no doubts of his repertoire.
In the match against West Ham, he scored two goals and was praised by his effort. The victory kept Newcastle at the 3rd position at the Premier League, which gives direct access to next year’s Champions League. Manchester United (4th) has the same number of points.
“Very happy to be able to score more goals with this shirt and, mainly, for the victory away from home. We are living a positive moment, with important victories in a row, and that gives us confidence to keep working. We are very focused and determined on this goal of winning a spot for the next Champions League, and now it’s time to keep working for the next game, which will be another complicated battle away from home”, said the Brazilian after the match.
Joelinton is yet to be capped for the Brazilian squad. He was observed by coach Tite last year before the World Cup and there was a small possibility that he would be called to Qatar, but it didn’t happen.
He believed it could happen last month, in a friendly against Morocco, but the interim coach Ramon Menezes left him out. Bruno Guimarães, Arsenal’s Gabriel Magalhães and Martinelli also didn’t feature on the list.
It is one of his main goals for this season.
Joelinton and his companions will be back on the field next Saturday (8) against Brentford.
