Joelinton anger shows how Newcastle mentality's changed after Ciaran Clark's unintentional gift

You suspect the Newcastle United supporters present on Saturday did not even remember the last time they had last watched Brighton in the flesh at St James' Park. The 0-0 draw in 2019 was that uneventful.

Joelinton won't have forgotten that day, however, after a bruising encounter up front against the Seagulls. Steve Bruce even admitted that Joelinton was starting to realise how 'difficult' it was in the Premier League after the club's record signing was bullied by Brighton's towering defenders, who were 'used to the physical confrontations'.

Well, 896 days on, Joelinton was the aggressor and never was that more apparent than in the closing stages. After staring the game in midfield, Joelinton was moved over to the right wing to try and stop the influential Marc Cucurella after Bruno Guimaraes replaced winger Ryan Fraser late on.

It was quite the battle and Joelinton and Cucurella were soon having to be separated by their team-mates following a coming together in the 87th minute. It immediately brought back memories of similar scenes after Joelinton took issue with a tackle by Everton midfielder Dele Alli at St James' just a few weeks previously.

Rather than panicking, and fearing Joelinton might lose his head against Brighton, Howe calmly had his arms folded on the touchline as the fall-out ate up some valuable seconds. Perhaps, that reflects the trust the Newcastle head coach has in Joelinton, who is the only player who has started every Premier League game since he took charge.

It said it all about Joelinton's newfound status as a fans' favourite that the Brazilian's chant then got its loudest airing as all four corners sang: 'He's Brazilian. He only cost £40 million...' Boos followed when referee Martin Atkinson