Newcastle United extended their outstanding unbeaten run with a well-fought victory in their Premier League clash against Brentford and manager Eddie Howe will be relieved that his team could snatch all three points from a difficult outing at the Community Stadium.
The Magpies kept their Champions League dreams alive by going back into third in the top-flight table – three points clear of Tottenham Hotspur in fifth with a game in hand.
Despite a real struggle in the first half, Newcastle managed to have 59% possession of the ball, with more accurate passes completed (341 v 206), more tackles won (19 v 16) and more clearances (27 v 15), proving that they had to outmuscle Brentford to take the game away from their hosts, via Sofascore.
The Geordies looked like a shadow of themselves and completely disjointed in the first half with a number of mistimed tackles causing problems in their own half, with centre-back Sven Botman gifting Ivan Toney a penalty when he brought down Kevin Schade in the box.
Luckily, goalkeeper Nick Pope had little trouble seeing off Toney's attempt from the spot, but Alexander Isak's altercation in the box with Rico Henry delivered the Bees another penalty which, this time, the former Newcastle striker tucked away to give his team the lead.
Howe displayed his incredible in-game management skills when he made two game-changing substitutions, with Callum Wilson and Anthony Gordon replacing Jacob Murphy and Sean Longstaff for the final 45 minutes.
Those changes brought Newcastle back to life with Joelinton's ball across the keeper's line finding its way into the net from a David Raya own goal, then Isak killed the game with a second to make it 2-1 at the final whistle.
How did Sean Longstaff get on vs Brentford?
The midfield trio of Bruno Guimaraes, Longstaff and Joelinton has been one of the most consistent and dynamic in the Premier League this season, however, it looked like months of high-intensity performances finally took its toll on the club's academy graduate yesterday.
Longstaff has started 25 Premier League games, averaging 77 minutes per appearance, as well as being integral in Newcastle's impressive League Cup run which saw them only fall short in the Wembley final against Manchester United, so it was long overdue for the talented midfielder to have a burnout moment.
Over his 45-minute performance, the £50k-per-week ace was a passenger against Brentford with fewer touches of the ball than Pope, while he lost four duels, failed to complete any of his dribbling attempts and made just 19 accurate passes throughout the first half – as per Sofascore – before being hooked by Howe during the break.
The 25-year-old's poor display surely won't trouble Howe as the player's transformation this season speaks for itself, quickly becoming one of the most important components in Newcastle's phenomenal rise up the league table and competitiveness in domestic cup competitions.
With that being said, it will have become even more clear to the Newcastle boss that rotation in key positions will be their biggest asset in the remaining fixtures to retain their position inside of the top four and claim Champions League qualification for next season.