Eddie Howe credited a change in attitude from his Newcastle players after they claimed a 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Bruno Guimaraes arrived late at the edge of the box to smash home in the 81st minute, not long after referee Sam Allison had ruled their first strike out for a foul.
Howe’s side failed to get going in the first half but he lauded their shift in mentality during a break in play where goalkeeper Martin Dubravka received treatment.
“I’m relieved. It was a very difficult opening 25 minutes, we were second best, we suffered,” he said.
“A change of attitude from us made the difference, we were stretched and there are reasons why we weren’t at our best in the opening period but it was an incredible response and I think it was one of our best wins of the season.
“We needed to look at things differently, we were a little bit reactive, a little bit late on things and that’s not like us. We were lucky to come into half-time at 0-0 and that was another opportunity.”
Guimaraes’ strike put him on four for the campaign and the Brazil international battled during a scrappy affair in west London.
Howe talked up the midfielder’s efforts to help his side claim victory after their 1-1 draw with Everton last time out.
“I wax lyrical of him all the time and that’s because I genuinely feel it,” Howe added.
“He’s got an incredible personality and you could feel that today. He had the quality on the ball to help us win the game and I thought that was a really good performance from him.”
Marco Silva believes Newcastle told Dubravka to go down for “tactical” reasons after the Slovakian keeper required treatment on two occasions.
Silva said: “It was tactical. The first one is clear, there was feedback for the goalkeeper to go down. As you know, if the goalkeeper goes down the referee has to stop the game, there’s no way for the game to keep going, it’s a tactical decision from them. It is what it is.
“It’s a decision of Eddie (Howe).
“Newcastle tried to break our momentum with the goalkeeper (going down) twice on the grass, they were struggling in that moment and in moments of the first half.”
Howe acknowledged the injury allowed Newcastle to “refocus and regroup”, insisting the keeper had felt something in his leg.
He said: “Martin was feeling something in his leg. We said he has to go down if he’s feeling something so that gave us a chance to get the group in and that was much needed in that moment of the game.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
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