Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimarães is ‘as strong on the ball as (Frank) Rijkaard’ and showed it in the win over Manchester City this week.
That’s according to journalist Henk Spaan, who is full of praise for the Brazilian and Newcastle manager Eddie Howe after their success in the Carabao Cup.
Newcastle knocked Manchester City out of the competition earlier this week, securing a 1-0 win at St James Park courtesy of a goal from Alexander Isak.
The game was a hard fought one for the Magpies despite coming up against a much-changed Manchester City side, who still managed to enjoy 68% of possession and double the amount of passes Newcastle did in the game.
Guimarães was introduced as a second half substitute for youngster Lewis Miley after halftime and immediately showed his ability, adding a degree of control to the middle of the park that Newcastle had been lacking beforehand.
His performance, and Howe’s on the sideline, didn’t go unnoticed by Spaan, who was keen to praise both in his column this week and even likened the Brazilian to a Dutch icon.
“An eight for Eddie Howe,” he wrote.
“Howe replaced a 17-year-old boy, Lewis Miley, with Guimarães and Lewis Hall (19) with Anthony Gordon. He added eleven years of experience to Newcastle’s midfield and suddenly Manchester City shriveled.
“We talked about the intensity in England: Newcastle-Man City was a textbook example of it.
“Especially in midfield, every half meter was fought for at the highest pace. You need technique for it, Guimarães is just as strong on the ball as Rijkaard.
“A technique that must become functional within 0.3 seconds, the time Wenger once calculated. Maybe it’s 0.2 seconds now.
“Given the number of young players Howe and Guardiola had fielded, the League Cup was not the top priority. Those young football players didn’t care. They fought for a starting spot, for their future, for honor. Where is the sense of honor at Ajax?”
