Oh, Mr. Shearer ... your bias is showing! Newcastle United legend Alan Shearer has selected three of Eddie Howe's men in his Team of the Week after their win at Fulham.
Newcastle took three points from Craven Cottage on Saturday, which not many sides have done this season, but it was far from a vintage performance by the Magpies.
For the first 30 minutes, Newcastle were barely in the game at all. In fact, Eddie Howe had to resort to giving his side a dressing down on the touchline midway through the first half while goalkeeper Martin Dubravka received treatment on the pitch.
The second-half performance was much improved, but still, hardly the side that finished fourth in the Premier League last season.
That being said, though, it hasn't stopped former Newcastle striker Alan Shearer from selecting three Mags for his Premier League Team of the Week.
Martin Dubravka (Newcastle)
"Four saves, and he was calm and assured in Newcastle's goal as they kept a much-needed clean sheet in the win at Fulham."
Fabian Schar (Newcastle)
"Shackled Rodrigo Muniz and won so many challenges, while he was unlucky that his goal was ruled out."
Bruno Guimaraes (Newcastle)
"Not a bad way to mark your 100th appearance for the club. He took his goal really well to seal an important three points."
We're glad to see Fabian Schar getting some credit for his display as there seems to be a lot of people focusing on the one mistake he made that almost resulted in a Fulham goal, but that error aside he was rock solid.
Martin Dubravka is a brave choice by Shearer. The Slovakian kept a clean sheet, sure, but he never faced any real danger from Fulham despite their spells of dominance. Still, it should be a nice confidence boost for him.
Bruno Guimaraes also found himself in Garth Crook's Team of the Week for the BBC with his goal being the decisive one in the game, so we're not too shocked to see his name here.
PL | GD | PTS | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Liverpool
|
14 | 18 | 35 |
2 |
Chelsea
|
15 | 17 | 31 |
3 |
Arsenal
|
15 | 14 | 29 |
4 |
Manchester City
|
15 | 6 | 27 |
5 |
Nottingham Forest
|
15 | 1 | 25 |
6 |
Aston Villa
|
15 | 0 | 25 |
7 |
Brighton
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
8 |
Bournemouth
|
15 | 3 | 24 |
9 |
Brentford
|
15 | 3 | 23 |
10 |
Fulham
|
15 | 2 | 23 |
11 |
Tottenham Hotspur
|
15 | 12 | 20 |
12 |
Newcastle United
|
15 | -2 | 20 |
13 |
Manchester United
|
15 | 1 | 19 |
14 |
West Ham United
|
15 | -8 | 18 |
15 |
Everton
|
14 | -7 | 14 |
16 |
Leicester
|
15 | -9 | 14 |
17 |
Crystal Palace
|
15 | -6 | 13 |
18 |
Ipswich
|
15 | -13 | 9 |
19 |
Wolves
|
15 | -15 | 9 |
20 |
Southampton
|
15 | -20 | 5 |