The Sunday Times April 24, 2022 7NORWICH CITY
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Apr 30Aston Villa (a)
May 8West Ham Utd (h)
May 11Leicester City (a)
May 15Wolves (a)
May 22Tottenham (h)32
Newcastle’s points in
2022 – only Liverpool
(35) have more in PLEVERTON
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TodayLiverpool (a)
May 1Chelsea (h)
May 8Leicester City (a)
May 11Watford (a)
May 15Brentford (h)
May 19Crystal Palace (h)
May 22Arsenal (a)Joelinton marked his 100th Premier
League appearance with two goals as
Newcastle United enhanced their
upwardly mobile status by advancing
into the top half of the Premier
League table.
Another Brazilian, the January
signing Bruno Guimarães, inset, was
also influential in a victory that
pushed Norwich City closer to
inevitable relegation. He set up the
first two and scored the third.
It was Newcastle’s first win at
Carrow Road since January
1994, when Andy Cole
and Peter Beardsley
were the scorers. The
two sides had been
neighbours in the
bottom three when
they shared a 1-1 draw in
November shortly after
Howe had replaced Steve
Bruce as manager. The
richest side in the Premier League,
pumped up by Saudi Arabian oil
cash, have doubled the points tally of
the poorest, who rely on Delia
Smith’s cookbook sales.
“I’m really pleased for Joe,” said
Howe, who had moved the Brazilian
out of midfield to his former position
of central striker, and switched him
to the left before the goals. “They
were brilliant moments for him
especially knowing the journey he
has had at the club.”
It took Howe a while to get
Newcastle moving — a £90 million
outlay in January certainly helped —
but now only Liverpool have
accumulated more points in 2022.
“When you look back at some ofJoelinton shows he can be
part of Newcastle’s new era
the days we had early on we are a
long, long way from where we are
now,” Howe said.
The first half was a catalogue of
poor passing from both sides and
wasted chances before Joelinton
made his mark. The former Norwich
winger Jacob Murphy missed an early
one, while Kieran Dowell put two
decent Norwich chances over.
It was Newcastle’s turn to go close
next, with Dan Burn winning a near-
post header from a corner and seeing
it drop inches wide of the far upright.
A goal was coming and Joelinton
broke the deadlock in the 35th
minute. Norwich allowed Newcastle
to make a succession of passes across
their box and the Brazilian was in
space on the left to hit a rising drive
beyond Tim Krul.
Joelinton scored again
five minutes later.
Murphy raced into the
box and was tackled by
Grant Hanley, but the
ball fell to the Brazilian
for a finish into an
open goal.
A third came when
Krul, a Newcastle player
for more than a decade, sold
Mathias Normann short with a pass
that Guimarães accepted before
deftly chipping over the goalkeeper.
“We have been punished too many
times for our mistakes,” Dean Smith,
the Norwich manager, said. “Tim has
to hold his hand up — he knows he
has made a boo boo.”Star man Joelinton (Newcastle United)
Norwich City (4-2-3-1): T Krul 5 — S Byram 6,
G Hanley 6, C Zimmermann 5 (M Aarons 58min, 5),
D Giannoulis 6 — M Normann 7 (J Rowe 58, 6),
K McLean 7 — K Dowell 6, P Lees-Melou 7,
M Rashica 5 (C Tzolis 75) — T Pukki 6.
Newcastle United (4-3-3): M Dubravka 7 —
E Krafth 7, J Lascelles 7, D Burn 7, M Targett 7 —
S Longstaff 6, B Guimarães 8 (D Gayle 87), J
Willock 7 — J Murphy 7 (M Ritchie 74), Joelinton 8
(Almiron 67, 5), A Saint-Maximin 6.
Booked Saint-Maximin, Guimarães.
Referee C Kavanagh.Jon WestNORWICH CITY
0
NEWCASTLE UNITED
Joelinton 35, 41, Guimarães 49 3RELEGATION
RUN-INBURNLEY
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May 22Newcastle Utd (h)WATFORD
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May 11Everton (h)
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May 22Chelsea (a)MAN CITY
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TBAWolves (h)problems before Tuesday’s Champi-
ons League semi-final first leg with
Real Madrid.
Having won three times at the
Etihad before, Roy Hodgson, the
Watford manager, had spoken of the
need to be “unpopular” by keeping
the game tight for as long as possible.
But less then four minutes had gone
when Jesus tapped in from six yards
after Oleksandr Zinchenko crossed
dangerously into the area.
After 23 minutes Jesus headed in
from similar range, this time from an
exquisite curling cross from Kevin De
Bruyne. They were goals that showed
why Guardiola had made the Brazilian
one of his first signings after arriving
at the Etihad in 2016, with the aim
of Jesus eventually becoming the
long-term replacement for Sergio
Agüero.
With eight goals in his first ten
league games, after starting with City
in early 2017, that looked to be a likely
career progression although injuries
meant that he never quite maintained
that stellar trajectory. In more recent
times he has developed into an attack-
ing wide player, a position at which
City have an embarrassment of riches.
Still, if another Premier League
club wanted proof that Jesus could
function as a more traditional No 9,
there was abundant evidence here in
the way the winger took his goals.
First, there was the only goal not
scored by Jesus, although the Brazil-
ian set it up on 34 minutes when he
robbed Tom Cleverley of the ball near
the corner flag and picked out Rodri
on the edge of the area for the Spanish
midfielder to score the goal of the day
as he waited for the bounce and
volleyed in.
As for Jesus, his first league hat-
trick, to go with two in the Champions
League, arrived after 14 seconds of the
second half when he capitalised on an
error by Hassane Kamara and was
brought down by Ben Foster’s out-
stretched boot. Jesus took the spot
kick himself, easily beating Foster.
“To go out, after less than one min-
ute and give away a fourth goal, that
takes the game totally out of your
reach,” Hodgson said. “You’re looking
into the abyss, playing against a team
that can score lots and lots of goals if
they want to.”
And Jesus wanted to. After 53 min-
utes he brought City another goal
closer to Liverpool, after playing a
tidy one-two with De Bruyne and
beating Foster from near the
penalty spot.
It was time for Guardiola to breathe
a sigh of relief, and give De Bruyne, in
particular, an early rest with an eye on
Tuesday, along with Aymeric Laporte
and Rodri.
Ever the perfectionist, Guardiola
would have been less than impressed
with a couple of aspects of his team’s
first-half defending, however, with
João Cancelo being robbed of the ball
by Moussa Sissoko after only 12 min-
utes and freeing Emmanuel Dennis,
who was denied what would have
been an equaliser by Zinchenko’s
stunning challenge.
City were similarly exposed at the
back, when Watford pulled to within a
goal after 27 minutes as the away side
cut through the defence and Dennis
played in Kamara who beat Ederson a
little too easily.
A water bottle bore the brunt of
Guardiola’s frustration at that goal
and, although Jesus ensured his mood
improved greatly as the day wore on,
the sight of Real looming, with Can-
celo suspended and Kyle Walker still
injured, will have offered him food for
thought.RACE FOR THE TITLE
LIVERPOOL
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TodayEverton (h)
Apr 30Newcastle (a)
May 7Tottenham (h)
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TBASouth’pton (a)‘You’re looking into
the abyss, playing
against a team
that can score lots
and lots of goals if
they want to’