Bruno Guimaraes marked his first Newcastle United start with a gorgeous winner as the Toon stopped in-form Southampton with a brilliant 2-1 away win on the south coast – and Kieran Trippier has applauded the Brazilian.
Following his big-money move from Lyon in the January window, 24-year-old Bruno has been forced to watch form the bench until Thursday evening. He had previously come on as a substitute in Newcastle’s last five games.
But he was in Eddie Howe’s starting line-up down south, lasting 67 minutes for the Toon and scoring the all-important winner. Chris Wood also got his first goal in Newcastle colours, heading in a Jonjo Shelvey cross.
It came after Stuart Armstrong had given Southampton the lead, only for Wood to equalise seven minutes later. The winner came in the second half, as Dan Burn headed a corner back to Bruno – who backheel volleyed home.
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He showed his class on Thursday. Bruno was everywhere, playing in a box-to-box role for the Toon alongside the likes of Jonjo Shelvey and Joe Willock. If there were any doubts about his price tag, they have been extinguished.
With arguably Howe’s biggest test since becoming manager coming on Sunday at Stamford Bridge – a stadium in which Howe has produced upsets before – Bruno has simply got to start. He is already a Toon fan favourite.
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