Newcastle United suffered a fresh injury scare against Liverpool when Joelinton went down, but the Brazilian was not happy when Eddie Howe decided to take him off.
The Magpies were clearly very tired in the second half on Saturday night, giving it their all to get back into the game despite being down to 10 men. They performed brilliantly, and perhaps could have gotten something out of the match had Nick Pope not been sent off.
Howe’s side created plenty of chances, but failed to provide that killer instinct in front of goal. Towards the end of the game, Newcastle were a spent force.
It looked like Sean Longstaff had nothing left in the tank and needed to be substituted. But then it was Joelinton who went down.
That prompted concern from Toon fans ahead of the Carabao Cup final. Luckily, he was quickly up to his feet after treatment from the physios.
But Howe wasn’t taking any chances.
Joelinton wanted to stay on against Liverpool
The Toon boss quickly got a substitute ready, with Matt Ritchie prepared to come on for his first appearance at St James’ Park all season.
However, the 26-year-old was not happy. According to the Chronicle, Joelinton shouted over to the touchline to tell Howe that he was fine to continue.
But the manager ignored his plea, and the fourth official indicated that number 11 would be replacing number seven in the 71st minute. As Ritchie came on in place of Joelinton, Howe had words with the midfielder before he took his place on the bench.
While Joelinton may have felt he could continue, Howe made the right decision. By that point, the game was gone. Howe was right to go into conservation made and focus on next week’s final. He had already taken Kieran Trippier off.
He may have been able to continue, but Joelinton was not going to turn the game around in the remaining minutes. There was more chance of him picking up a serious injury.
Howe made the right call, and it means the big Brazilian will be available for the biggest game of the season at Wembley.
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