Player ratings as Alexander Isak snatches 3 points with late winner

Newcastle United snatched a dramatic 1-0 victory at home to Fulham on Sunday afternoon with an 89th minute winner from Alexander Isak.

Aleksandr Mitrovic was once a big-money addition to Newcastle’s frontline but squandered a golden chance to remind the Magpies of what they were missing on his return to Tyneside. Fulham’s leading scorer scuffed a calamitous second-half penalty onto his standing leg, seeing his spot-kick ruled out before Newcastle’s record arrival nodded in at the death.

Eddie Howe’s side has been rightly lauded for their league-best defensive record but their wait for a Premier League goal at the right end of the pitch dragged to six consecutive halves of top-flight football after a profligate opening 45 minutes from the hosts.

Bruno Guimaraes limped into the half-time interval in tears but before damaging his ankle the Brazilian slipped Sean Longstaff into the box with a silk-lined pass. Issa Diop hauled himself in the way, providing a block in the opening five minutes which was emblematic of the last-ditch defending Fulham were repeatedly forced into.

Diop rebuffed Callum Wilson’s shot from almost the same blade of grass and snuffed out Joe Willock’s angle for an attempt. Wilson managed to escape Diop’s clutches on the cusp of half-time but wriggling into the box before he was denied by Bernd Leno for the third time already.

Newcastle’s frustration wasn’t restricted to open play. Fabian Schar convinced Kieran Trippier to let him take a second-half set piece, bending a free kick from 25 yards out onto the base of the post.

Fulham hadn’t been afforded a sniff of Newcastle’s net before launching a pair of penalty appeals three-quarters of the way through the contest. VAR deemed Bobby Decordova-Reid’s wails worthy of a spot-kick after the fleet-footed forward lured Trippier into a stray kick.

Mitrovic, in front of the fans who once cheered him on, slipped as he connected with the penalty. The ball span into the net but Fulham’s celebrations were swiftly cut short as the goal was rightly ruled out for Mitrovic’s double-touch.

Diop was cruelly punished for a rare error right at the death of an impressive performance. Jumping underneath Longstaff’s cross, Diop failed to prevent Wilson prodding the ball across the box for Isak to nod in from close range.

GK: Nick Pope – 5/10 – Given precious little to do, even when faced with a spot kick.

RB: Kieran Trippier – 7/10 – Newcastle’s…