Bruno Guimaraes has come to the defence of goalkeeper Nick Pope after the England international’s costly mistake in Newcastle United’s 2-1 defeat to Marseille in the Champions League.
Newcastle had made a dream start at the Stade Vélodrome, taking the lead through Harvey Barnes after just eight minutes. But moments after the restart, disaster struck.
Pope, attempting to sweep up a long ball over the top, rushed off his line but failed to make contact. The loose ball rolled into the path of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who coolly curled it into an empty net from distance. The former Arsenal striker doubled his tally just minutes later, punishing another lapse in concentration as Marseille completed a rapid turnaround.
The defeat continued Newcastle’s worrying run of poor results away from St James’ Park. They have now lost four consecutive away games in all competitions — three of them after taking the lead. Bruno Guimaraes, one of the few players to front up after the match, admitted the team simply lost focus at a crucial stage.
“We started the game so well — strong, aggressive, keeping the ball,” he told BBC Newcastle. “In the second half, we were just not on the pitch for five, ten minutes, and that cost us two goals. It’s very disappointing. We have to learn from this because defeats like today are hard to take.”
The result leaves Newcastle with nine points from five group matches, still in contention for a last-16 place but now under pressure ahead of trips to Bayer Leverkusen and Paris Saint-Germain, with a home clash against PSV Eindhoven sandwiched in between.
When asked about the criticism directed at Pope, Bruno Guimaraes was quick to defend his teammate. “Pope has saved us many, many times,” he said. “This can happen to anyone — it’s happened to me, to him, to Dan Burn. We win and lose together.”
Bruno Guimaraes urged his side to show more resilience as they chase their first Premier League away win of the season, with a crucial trip to Everton next on Saturday evening.
