An inspired performance from Bruno Guimaraes propelled Newcastle United to victory against Bradford City in the Carabao Cup.
They advanced to the next round with relative ease, as Newcastle beat Bradford 4-1 at St James’ Park to begin their defence of the Carabao Cup.
Their reward? A home tie with Tottenham Hotspur in the fourth round. That will be a challenge, but Eddie Howe will now reflect on what was a job well done against their League One opponents.
Bruno Guimaraes returned to the starting XI after sitting out Bournemouth, running the show in the middle of the park. He helped himself to two assists, producing a defence-splitting pass to create Will Osula’s opening goal of the night.
It was an equally impressive finish from the £10million striker, who justified his selection with two goals. He is Newcastle’s top scorer so far this season, having found the net three times in total.
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Bruno Guimaraes delighted to see Will Osula score twice vs Bradford
It was a big night for Osula. He was under pressure to deliver, and he certainly did that with his goals. A smart finish and a poacher’s tap-in gave him his first ever Newcastle United brace, at a time when Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa have pushed him down the pecking order.
But there was delight inside St James’ Park when Osula found the back of the net, and he took to his official Instagram account after the game to toast his two goals.
Alongside pictures from Newcastle’s win over Bradford, Osula simply wrote: “W. +2.”
In reply to his post about Newcastle’s win and his two goals, multiple Toon players commented.
Malick Thiaw wrote: “Too quick.”
Joe Willock added: “Ws.”
The longest message came from the captain, with Bruno writing: “Happy for u brother.”
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Eddie Howe is delighted after Will Osula proves a point
Most Newcastle United fans will share Bruno’s sentiments regarding Osula. He is a player who you always want to see score. And he is starting to look more and more likely to do that, having improved so much since his St James’ Park arrival in 2024.
That is the view of Eddie Howe, who praised the 22-year-old after the game.
“Slowly but surely he [Osula] is improving his game,” he said.
“It wasn’t just his goals tonight, it was his hold-up play, his wing play. He’s done his chances no harm.”
The young Dane is improving, at a time when he needs to step up. Osula almost left Newcastle in the summer, while he could potentially struggle even more for minutes once Wissa returns to fitness.
Osula sent a message with his performance on Wednesday night, telling Eddie Howe that he can trust him to deliver. Hopefully that translates into more opportunities, as Newcastle continue to polish the rough diamond they bought from Sheffield United.
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