Lewis Miley, 17, netted his first goal for Newcastle to become the club’s youngest Premier League scorer and help them to a 3-0 victory over 10-player Fulham, who saw striker Raul Jimenez sent off early on.
Fulham were brought back down to reality following consecutive 5-0 wins after Jimenez was shown a straight red card for jumping into Sean Longstaff in the 22nd minute.
Newcastle went closest to scoring when Anthony Gordon hit the crossbar but the depleted hosts were dealt two more injury blows in the first half, seeing Fabian Schar and Joelinton forced off with muscle strains.
But substitute Miley opened the scoring with a well-taken finish 10 minutes into the second half which led to Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn also finding the net to give Newcastle their seventh consecutive home league win.
How Newcastle beat 10-player Fulham
Newcastle’s injury-hit squad was tested further when Schar pulled up in the 11th minute with a hamstring injury, but Fulham had bigger problems after Jimenez jumped into the head of Longstaff. The striker was initially shown a yellow card although soon saw red when referee Sam Barrott was sent to the pitchside monitor.
Gordon struck the underside of the crossbar as Newcastle pushed for the opener but the visitors still threatened on the counter-attack, seeing Alex Iwobi denied by Martin Dubravka.
Joelinton was then forced off through injury and replaced by Miley, who opened the scoring in the 56th minute after a wave of Newcastle pressure. The teenager fired across Bernd Leno and into the bottom left corner.
Almiron soon made it two to wrap up the game with only 63 minutes played. Gordon slipped a pass through Callum Wilson, who was just onside, only to be bundled over by Antonee Robinson, but the ball ran kindly for Almiron to slot in.
Burn added the third in the 81st minute, bundling home after his initial header from Bruno Guimaraes’ cross had been saved. Sven Botman came on to a big cheer, earning his first minutes in three months following injury, before Wilson hit a post in added time.
Howe: Miley is an incredible talent
Newcastle manager Eddie Howe on Lewis Miley: “His all-round performances have been so good and he’s created a couple of goals with some really good passes in the final third. It’s good to see him rewarded with a goal for himself. He’s an incredible talent, he’s started his Newcastle career in a great way.”
On Schar and Joelinton injuries: “It’s difficult to say. I don’t know what to say about it. That’s where we did really well to keep our composure and not dwell on those situations. Hopefully they’re not too bad.”
‘I can’t believe he’s 17!’
Newcastle’s Lewis Miley on his first goal: “What a moment it was for me and my family. They were in the stand. Great feeling to see the ball in the back of the net. Hopefully I can score lots more.
“I haven’t checked my phone yet but I’m sure everyone will be buzzing for us.”
Bruno Guimaraes added: “Sometimes I can’t believe he’s 17. He’s unbelievable. We’re very proud of him.”
Silva: Referee couldn’t handle the pressure
Fulham manager Marco Silva: “Until the 21st minute of the game, we didn’t have one foul. All the tackles and challenges on the pitch, for us, were to keep going and, for Newcastle, were always free-kicks. Really strange. The pressure on the game with a not experienced referee was difficult for him. He was not capable of handling the pressure, in my opinion, from a game like this one at St James’ Park.
“Two minutes before the red card, something that can make a big influence in the game, is the elbow from (Jamal) Lascelles on Raul (Jimenez). The VAR wants to stop the game to turn over the decision from the referee when he decided to give a yellow card for Raul and support him with the same images, not different images. The same VAR two minutes before didn’t see the elbow.
“How can we understand these types of decisions from someone in an office with all the images to decide? This is what I don’t understand. After that moment the game became much more difficult for us. I have to give credit to our players for the way they handled the pressure, the way they kept organised in the first half. That showed we are in a very good moment.”
Opta Stats: Newcastle in seven heaven
- Aged 17 years and 229 days, Lewis Miley is the youngest player to score for Newcastle United in the Premier League, against the youngest player overall in the competition since Federico Macheda against Aston Villa in April 2009 (17y 226d).
- Newcastle United have won seven successive Premier League games at St James’ Park, their longest run in the competition since between September 2002 and January 2003 (11).
- Since Eddie Howe’s first Premier League game in charge of Newcastle United in November 2021, only Liverpool (34) and Manchester City (31) have kept more clean sheets than their 29, 20 of which have been at home.
- Lewis Miley, at the age of 17 years and 229 days, became the eighth-youngest scorer in Premier League history after James Vaughan (16y 270d), James Milner (16y 356d), Wayne Rooney (16y 360d), Cesc Fabregas (17y 113d), Michael Owen (17y 143d), Andy Turner (17y 166d) and Federico Macheda (17y 226d).
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What’s next?
There is no rest for Newcastle as they face Chelsea on Tuesday night in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals live on Sky Sports. Kick-off 8pm. They then travel to Luton on Saturday December 23. Kick-off 3pm.
Fulham are also in action in the quarter-finals, taking on Everton on Tuesday. Kick-off 7.45pm.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.