Newcastle United journalist Lee Ryder was left blown away by the performance of summer signing Bruno Guimaraes on Thursday night.
Eddie Howe’s men took another big step towards Premier League safety on the south coast with a huge 2-1 win in the first of four consecutive away games.
Will Bruno now become a regular in Howe's XI?
Yes
No
Chris Wood got his first goal since making the move to Tyneside in January and on his first start for the Magpies, Bruno scored the winning goal.
The Brazilian was stepping in for his fellow countryman, Joelinton, who missed the game against Southampton due to a fresh injury concern.
And he certainly put on a positive showing for his new side with a solid defensive showing as well as proving a threat going forward as he provided a big chance on the night as well as scoring the winner (via SofaScore). He also had a 100% dribble success rate and recorded 52 touches – only Matt Targett had more for Newcastle.
After the game, Ryder published his player ratings for The Chronicle and the Newcastle reporter was clearly impressed with the midfielder as he awarded him with a 10/10 rating:
“The guy oozes quality. Had a hand in the first goal and scored a wonderful backheeled winner,” Ryder wrote for The Chronicle.
TIF Thoughts on Ryder’s assessment…
We absolutely agree Bruno oozed class during the game against Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side and certainly gave the fans with an encouraging display.
However, we would not quite agree with his 10/10 rating. Perhaps awarded in the emotion of three big points but we feel a faultless game was not quite the case.
And that’s not to say Bruno put in a below-par display – far from it. But he did end the game with a 70% pass completion rate which can certainly be improved on.
But it was definitely a promising first start for the Brazilian which will offer fans a taste of what they hope is to come from the 24-year-old.
In other news: Journalist reveals touchline incident which sent Newcastle supporters mad