Fulham 1-4 Newcastle: Toon up to 7th as Geordies run riot on the River Thames
After failing to take all three points since our opening day clash with Nottingham Forest, we ended our winless run in style today, beating Fulham 4-1 in an utterly one-sided affair.
The hosts went down to 10 men just seven minutes in after Nathaniel Chalobah's late lunge on Sean Longstaff, but we capitalised superbly with a confident display in the capital.
We passed the ball with pace and purpose, won our duels and completely dominated in all areas of the pitch, with a poacher's finish from Callum Wilson, Miguel Almiron stunner and Sean Longstaff tap in from a Sven Botman header sending us into the break 3-0 up.
Almiron added a fourth with his second of the game, smashing into an empty net after some great work from Joe Willock down the left, also having a goal disallowed - along with Ryan Fraser - for offside.
It could've been more than four and we shouldn't have conceded late on, with Fulham's goal coming from their one and only shot on target in the 88th minute, however it was an afternoon full of positive at Craven Cottage and a victory we so badly needed after our longest run without a win since Howe took the job almost 12 months ago.
We enjoyed just shy of 70% possession, Sven Botman made it look easy at the back, handling Mitrovic with ease before he went off injured, Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock put in superb displays in slightly more advanced roles, Almiron was great value for his brace and Callum Wilson looked sharp on his return, reminding us how much better we often look with him in the side.
The result sends us up to 7th on 11 points, kick-starting our season ahead of next weekend's clash with Brentford; who drew 0-0 away to Bournemouth in another of today's 3pm kick offs.
STARTING XI: Pope - Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn - Longstaff, Guimaraes, Willock - Almiron, Wilson, Murphy.
SUBS: Karius, Dummett, Lascelles, Lewis, Targett, Joelinton, Anderson, Fraser, Wood.
Howe made FOUR changes to the side that drew 1-1 with Bournemouth before the international break. Two of those were enforced, as Joelinton - who hadn't trained all week - and the injured Alexander Isak were replaced by Sean Longstaff and Callum Wilson.
It was great to see our number nine back after over a month on the sidelines, although a slight worry to see Jacob Murphy come in down the left as Howe opted to leave Ryan Fraser and Elliot Anderson on the bench. Burn replaced Targett - another player managing a knock - at left-back, meaning Sven Botman came in at centre-back alongside Fabian Schar.
We started on the front foot, forcing an early corner through Murphy within the first 80 seconds and clipping the outside of the post through Wilson, but the big turning points came a few minutes later when a nasty lunge from Nathaniel Chalobah left Sean Longstaff in a heap. VAR advised the referee to take a second look and the initial yellow card shown was soon changed to a red.
We had to take advantage and we did so in style, as an inviting Kieran Trippier cross was headed across goal by Joe Willock and tapped in by Callum Wilson, handing our number nine the perfect return to first-team action just 11 minutes in.
Then it was Almiron's turn. The classy Bruno Guimaraes dinked a ball in behind and the Paraguayan produced a Van Basten-esque volley to smash into the far corner, handing us a two-goal lead on the half hour mark and almost certainly securing himself October's goal of the month! It was a simply stunning finish.
Just moments after Mitrovic was forced off with an injury, we made 3-0 two minutes before the break, as Sean Longstaff smashed in from close range after Sven Botman's looping header was parried into the midfielder's path. We were running riot on the River Thames and the Toon Army were in great voice.
We didn't settle for three, as Almiron helped himself to his second of the game, arriving at the back post to tap in a perfectly weighted ball across the box from Joe Willock.
Miggy came close to a hat-trick after curling a left footed effort into the top corner after getting in down the right, but a correct offside call denied the South American this time.
Howe made a host of changes in the final half an hour, as Anderson, Fraser, Lascelles, Lewis and Targett came on for Wilson, Guimaraes, Schar, Burn and Trippier.
Fulham's late goal was merely a consolation as De Cordova-Reid headed in at the back post, but it was frustrating to throw away a clean sheet to such a soft goal, with Jamal Lewis falling asleep at the back post.
Nevertheless, this was a slick, confident and dominant display, getting us well and truly back on track, ending our winless run in style ahead of our return to St James' Park.
Next up, Brentford a week today. HWTL!
