Joelinton finally put an end to his miserable goalscoring run as Newcastle battered Sheffield United 3-0 at St James’ Park.
The Brazilian got his first Premier League goal since August, rounding off a fantastic game for Steve Bruce’s side, who took advantage of John Egan’s red card early in the second half.
Less than five minutes after the Blades were reduced to ten men, Allan Saint-Maximin benefited from an error by Enda Stevens to break the deadlock.
Matt Ritchie’s emphatic effort doubled their lead before Joelinton tapped home Miguel Almiron’s low cross.
The Blades strung together nice passes in the early stages but Newcastle were more of a threat, Ritchie forcing Dean Henderson into making an early save while Saint-Maximin twisted Stevens inside out frequently.
Joelinton cut a figure desperately low on confidence at the start of the match and it showed as he made a complete hash of Newcastle’s first clear chance.
Almiron’s through ball put him clean through on goal but his scuffed effort fell gratefully into Henderson’s arms. A frustrated Joelinton was booked for a minor confrontation with Egan later in the first half.
However, the Brazilian was a nuisance for the Blades defence and it was an incident involving him which changed the course of the game.
Joelinton latched onto a long ball and Egan’s persistent grappling of him earned the striker a free-kick but, more importantly, Egan was given his marching orders having been booked for the first-half incident.
With their tales up, Newcastle got a hold of the game and took the lead when Ritchie’s low cross went through the legs of Stevens and Saint-Maximin, who was a handful throughout his time on the pitch, fired the ball into the net.
Billy Sharp should have levelled the scores moments later when he found himself unmarked in the box but the Blades captain headed wide.
Almiron should have doubled Newcastle’s advantage on the hour but Ritchie did nine minutes later with a rasping effort just outside the box after George Baldock failed to close him down.
And then Joelinton’s big moment came when Almiron found him unmarked just six yards out. The Brazilian wasn’t going to miss this one as Newcastle claimed a deserved victory.
