Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has praised one player who went under the radar in their 2-0 win against Chelsea.
The Magpies established a handy three point gap to sixth place by beating fifth-placed Chelsea at St James’ Park, but the game did not come without its nerves.
Despite going one nil up and having a one-man advantage, Newcastle United struggled to assert their dominance in the second half, allowing Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea side the opportunity to work their way back into the game.
Thankfully, Newcastle’s defence fought off the onslaught and Bruno Guimaraes scored an excellent goal late on to secure all three points.
Pat Nevin criticised Newcastle’s captain Guimaraes for his performance, claiming that the Brazilian had done very little before his goal.
Additionally, Chelsea fans were furious at Anthony Gordon for the number of times the winger was brought to ground by his opponents. It was the 24-year-old’s first start in over two months.
As fans enjoy the win against a close rival in the Premier League table, Eddie Howe has taken the time to praise one Newcastle player who calmed things down during the game.
Eddie Howe praises Emil Krafth after Newcastle United win
Emil Krafth’s role at Newcastle has always been one of a utility player. The Sweden international has not played as many games as he would have liked this season due to injury, but he was called upon on Sunday with Kieran Trippier out injured.
Krafth signed a new contract with Newcastle in 2025, keeping him at the club until the end of next season. Sporting director Paul Mitchell said Krafth will be more important going forward, and he is now expected to be exactly that for the final two games of this season.
When asked about Krafth’s performance by the press, Howe said: “I thought Emil did really well.
“It was a difficult time for any defender to come onto the pitch with so much at stake. He used his vast experience and delivered a strong performance.”
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Eddie Howe praises St James’ Park atmosphere during 2-0 win
Newcastle’s win against Chelsea had a big game feeling to it; both teams and the fans were well aware of what was at stake.
Howe called for noise inside St James’ Park for the game; Newcastle fans did not disappoint, as the ground was rocking.
Over 52,000 screaming fans were even louder after Sandro Tonali opened the scoring with just two minutes on the clock. They could finally breathe a sigh of relief at full-time.
The noise did not go unnoticed by Howe, who took the time to praise the supporters inside the ground for their efforts.
“I think the challenge today was the early kick-off,” Howe added in his post-match press conference.
“Could we find the voice and the intense atmosphere that we needed? It is very different to kicking off later. I thought the supporters were magnificent… maybe the free pint helped!”
Newcastle fans were given a free drink before the game, perhaps to get them more up for it once kick-off came around.
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