Newcastle 2 Fulham 1 – Match ratings and comments on all Newcastle United players | OneFootball

We asked Mark Jankowski to give us his match ratings and player comments after Newcastle 2 Fulham 1.

Pope 7

Nick Pope didn’t have an awful lot to do in goal today and there wasn’t an awful lot he could have done to save Fulham’s goal.

He distributed the ball well again with his throws and wasn’t really under any pressure with his kicking.

Trippier 7

Trippier was sloppy with his passing at times, especially in the first half.

However, as the second half wore on , his experience was invaluable in not only our defending but also our attacking play.

Thiaw 7

I was tempted to mark Thiaw an extra point higher. but I couldn’t really separate him a great deal from the other members of the back line, and I don’t feel the overall team performance warranted a score higher than a seven.

He continues to go from strength to strength, however, and looks like he might have been one of the best value signings of 2025.

Botman 7

Botman continues to display the class we all knew he possessed.

Unfortunately, he was forced off today with a head injury, but I’m sure he will recover quickly from that and should be back in contention for a start soon.

I hope he’s not out too long as the partnership he has formed with Thiaw looks like it could become one of the strongest in the league.

Burn 7

I was really worried about Dan Burn up against Adama Traore today.

However, the man from Blyth continues to show what a top player he is.

Traore occasionally managed to skip down the wing but in truth Dan Burn played him really well and Traore left the pitch having created very little in the second half.

Bruno 8

Bruno always seems to rise to the occasion when needed and today was no different.

At times he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck and he showed some classy touches on the ball with the ability to step away from Fulham’s aggressive press.

He missed an absolute sitter of a header midway through the second half. However, he made up for it with a coolly taken winner.

Miley 6

Young Lewis Miley didn’t quite hit the heights of midweek.

However, it was a decent performance from the young man.

He was guilty, as were many of his teammates, of giving the ball away cheaply at times. One incident in the first half nearly let Smith-Rowe into score.

Joelinton 7

It was a game of two halves for the big Brazilian.

He looked a little off the pace in the first half. However, he was invaluable in the second half in transforming Newcastle’s fortunes and once Sandro Tonali had been introduced. Joelinton shone, with his ability to shield the ball and get Newcastle up the pitch.

He was running hard well into stoppage time in the second half; we need more performances like that from big Joe moving forward.

Murphy 6

If he hadn’t have scored the goal, I probably would have marked Jacob Murphy even lower for today’s performance.

It was a very odd showing from the fan favourite. He put in a few really good balls during the opening 15 minutes, scored a goal not long after and then blew a one on one later in in the first half.

However, he didn’t seem to be on the same page as his teammates for much of the game, often not running into space where he could have done and giving the ball away cheaply.

Woltemade 5

It was easily big Nick’s quietest performance of the season so far, and considering the heights he’s hit in the short time he’s been on Tyneside, you can forgive him for one quieter day at the office.

That being said, he had an excellent chance in the opening minutes to put Newcastle in front. Unfortunately, he crashed a shot into the post instead.

Fulham’s physical duo of Bassey and Diop were able to outmuscle the German for much of the game, very much encouraged by a weak refereeing performance that allowed them to get away with murder.

Gordon 6

A much quieter afternoon from the England international following his stellar performance in midweek.

I’m still not sure if Gordon is solely responsible for a quieter day, or how much we should be looking at as teammates for failing to get him the ball in the right positions?

He worked hard to help Dan Burn deal with Fulham’s pace for most of the game and managed to put his defender on a yellow card very early. He nearly bagged an assist too, unfortunately Bruno couldn’t put his header on target.

Subs

Schar 6

It was good to see the Swiss back on the pitch after dropping out of the team due to his head injury and the top performances of Thiaw and Botman.

Did what he had to do well and demonstrated a few of the long balls that we’ve been missing.

Tonali 7

Sandro started a second game from the substitutes bench but was rightly introduced to change the game after Fulham had scored their goal.

As well as Lewis Miley played in midweek, Tonali is a world-class midfielder and showed his quality immediately after entering the fray.

Barnes 7

Harley Barnes really is a different player once he’s got a bit of confidence in a couple of goals in him.

Initially introduced on the right-hand side. It wasn’t long till he moved over to the left to replace a tiring Anthony Gordon.

He was aggressive and direct in his running and very nearly had a ball fall to him perfectly on the edge of the box. However, his teammate took the ball off his toes.

Elanga 6

Our summer signing had a few errant passes following its introduction.

However, his pace on the right hand side helped turn the tide in our favour as the second half wore on.

Sessengnon looked immediately uncomfortable following Elanga’s introduction and he won a string of fouls and created several decent openings in his short time on the pitch.

Osula 7

Introduced late in the game to try and help us bag a winner, young Will Osula delivered exactly what had been asked of him.

His relentless pressing of the Fulham back line led to them making the error which started our attack for the winning goal, Osula himself having the shot that was parried out into Bruno’s path.

It may have only been a brief appearance but we wouldn’t have won the game today without him.

Newcastle 2 Fulham 1 – Saturday 25 October 2025 3pm

(Stats via BBC Sport)

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Murphy 18, Bruno 90

Fulham:

Lukic 56

Possession was Newcastle 51% Fulham 49%

Total shots were Newcastle 18 Fulham 12

Shots on target were Newcastle 7 Fulham 5

Corners were Newcastle 4 Fulham 3

Touches in the box Newcastle 36 Fulham 25

Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Botman (Schar 61), Burn, Bruno, Joelinton, Miley (Tonali 61), Gordon (Elanga 76), Woltemade (Osula 86), Murphy (Barnes 61)

Subs:

Ramsdale, Krafth, Willock, Ramsey

(BBC Sport comments from ‘neutrals’ – Interesting on Newcastle United after 2-1 Fulham win – Read HERE)