Sometimes the sneaky wins are the ones to savour. Fulham made most of the running, created most of the chances and produced most of the best skill. As for Newcastle, they began the game in survival mode, could have been out of it after 30 minutes and appeared to be on the brink of collapse after seeing Joe Willock become the latest player to limp off injured.
At one point Fabian Schär, having stretched to head another teasing delivery from Fulham away, could be seen bellowing at his teammates to show more care in possession. Over on the touchline, Eddie Howe and Jason Tindall frowned and tried to work out how to lift their side. It was telling that Howe jumped at the chance to give his players a tactical debrief – and perhaps a few choice words about their attitude – after Martin Dubravka, Newcastle’s goalkeeper, went down for treatment after 21 minutes of total dominance from Fulham.
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