Newcastle return to winning ways with narrow win at West Ham | OneFootball

Newcastle United are back among the points in the wake of last weekend's loss at Liverpool after a narrow 1-0 win against West Ham tonight.

Scorers: Guimarães 63'

A chance to leap up the Premier League table was on offer at the London Stadium against a much-improved Hammers outfit under Graham Potter, but one of Eddie Howe's key lieutenants proved the difference maker throughout.

The opening 45 minutes of action in the capital were hardly anything to write home about, though, with both sides offering little more than pedestrian play while seemingly being afraid to head into the interval down a goal.

As is so often the case, both clubs came out for the second stanza looking a bit more positive, but it was Newcastle that would break the deadlock in the 63rd minute through Bruno Guimarães.

Harvey Barnes did brilliantly when he turned provider from just outside of the penalty area when his beautifully chipped ball into the box was met by the Brazilian's outstretched leg to touch beyond Alphonse Areola from inside six yards to set the visitors away.

It was the third goal of the season for the 27-year-old midfield fulcrum across a season where his influence remains critical to the club's efforts on the pitch despite sitting short of his goals total from 2023/24.

West Ham would have claims of a penalty waved away after VAR reviewed an incident where Jarrod Bowen was brought down in the box by Guimarães, but the former Lyon standout would escape a hero-to-villain storyline much to his relief.

Despite the even possession numbers, Potter's men offered little threat beyond one or two moments while failing to extend their winning run to three on the bounce.

With that, Newcastle now sit level with Manchester City in 5th on 47 points and just two adrift of Chelsea, keeping them right in the mix for the Champions League places.

At the other end, West Ham still rest in 16th but are near-guaranteed to avoid the drop as they continue to enjoy a 16-point gap between themselves and the bottom three.

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