I’m struggling to remember the last time I saw Liverpool as outrun and outmuscled as they were at Wembley on Sunday, not least in midfield.
The bullies became the bullied and Joelinton was the brilliant brute leading the way, like the kid from Year 11 toying with the Year 10s in a game at school.
Dan Burn won the man of the match award, and there can be no arguing with giving that honour to the boy from Blyth after that beautiful header.
But equally, Newcastle might not have ever triumphed were it not for their 28-year-old Brazilian giant in midfield.
DEVILMENT
Joelinton is that guy. The one you cannot stand when he is against you.
Bloody annoying. Clever. Confident. Conniving. Gets away with murder from the referees, don’t you know.
Joelinton is that guy. The one you cannot stand when he is against you
I sense his devilment has grown over time at Newcastle. Maybe it was always there deep down, but he’s honed it into such a skillset that he has made it his own now
I’m struggling to remember the last time I saw Liverpool as outrun and outmuscled as they were at Wembley on Sunday, not least in midfield
But when he is playing for you, boy do you love him, and Newcastle certainly do. Eddie Howe wouldn’t swap him, no matter who you offered.
He is a warrior – his warrior – and energetic to the very end. Even with 100 minutes and 20 seconds on the clock at Wembley, there he was, cynically grabbing hold of Harvey Elliott to stop him from contributing to a Liverpool counter-attack.
Elliott became his rag doll in that moment and Joelinton escaped without so much as a yellow card for that, because John Brooks didn’t have eyes in the back of his head.
You need that when he is on the prowl. I sense his devilment has grown over time at Newcastle.
Maybe it was always there deep down, but he’s honed it into such a skillset that he has made it his own now.
BRAINS
When Celtic signed Johan Mjallby in 1998, he joined as a midfielder, but became a centre back.
It is not as easy as clicking your fingers and saying, ‘Right, this is your new position, off you pop and best of luck.’ It takes work and I remember boss Martin O’Neill constantly coaching Mjallby to make him better.
Credit must go to Joelinton for his own transition from striker to midfielder, but also to Howe for the support he has shown him.
He saw enough intelligence in this Brazil international that he was confident he could learn a new role and evidently he has.
Against Liverpool, he was protecting the backline and, more specifically, was helping Tino Livramento stop Mohamed Salah from being Mohamed Salah.
For the first time in his Liverpool career, Salah neither attempted a shot nor created a chance in a game where he played 90-plus minutes.
There was a time when Joelinton was a laughing stock in English football. Well, who’s laughing now?
Credit must go to Joelinton for his transition from striker to midfielder since signing for Newcastle
He is a warrior – Howe’s warrior – and energetic to the very end. Even with 100 minutes and 20 seconds on the clock at Wembley…
…he was helping stop Mohamed Salah from being Mohamed Salah
BRAWN
When Newcastle signed Joelinton as a striker for £40million from Hoffenheim back in 2019, the fans might have expected alternative attributes from a Brazilian.
Some Samba flair, for example, the likes of which West Ham have enjoyed seeing from Lucas Paqueta. But Joelinton came armed with his own characteristics.
He’s got the brains that I mentioned which gives him the confidence to play in any position. No 6, No 8, No 10, No 9 – whatever number you pull from the bingo bag, he will give it a go.
But it is the brawn that helps him do a job wherever he is needed. Opponents know they will not have it easy and that they should expect a scrap at the very least.
I played with a few team-mates who had a physicality that could not be matched – good old Bobo Balde – and Joelinton is so tough to beat in a battle.
Howe likes his midfielders progressing up the pitch as it adds to his positive style of play. Good luck bumping Joelinton off the ball when he is hurtling forwards.
Opponents know they will not have it easy and that they should expect a scrap at the very least
He’s got the brains that give him the confidence to play in any position
Eddie Howe likes his midfielders progressing up the pitch as it adds to his positive style of play
RESILIENCE
Joelinton started his career with Sport Club do Recife in Pernambuco, Brazil. The temperatures there were in the 30s on Monday. They usually are.
When he moved to Germany with Hoffenheim in 2015, it was hard, cold and challenging. Joelinton himself has joked that he had to buy his first coat.
I like stories like that. It shows resilience, as does the way Joelinton dealt with the jibes after he joined Newcastle.
That he was a flop. That he was a waste. That they paid £40m too much for him. But he reinvented himself.
It takes tremendous mental fortitude to do what he has done, especially while doing it in the unforgiving playground of the Premier League.
DEFENSIVE MASTERCLASS
Call me the commander of the Celebration Police if you like, but I’m not the biggest fan of players celebrating tackles and the like.
Call me the commander of the Celebration Police if you like, but I’m not the biggest fan of players celebrating tackles and the like
Newcastle have some of the best supporters in world football and they love Joelinton – we all saw why on Sunday
Goals? Sure. But a block? Not for me. Still, Joelinton clearly loves it and it was on full show at Wembley.
Newcastle have some of the best supporters in world football, good people who work hard during the week and then want to see their players giving nothing less than total commitment at the weekend.
They respond to those shows of strength, especially when Joelinton is asking for noise from them.
They love him and we all saw why on Sunday.
