Newcastle United secured another Premier League victory away from home against Brentford this afternoon, and Eddie Howe will have let out a huge sigh of relief after the final whistle due to a challenging game of two halves in west London.
The Magpies move back into third, matching Manchester United on 56 points, and are looking comfortably on course to live out their wildest dreams of qualifying for Champions League football this season, with Tottenham Hotspur still trailing three points behind in fifth.
Despite having 59% possession, more accurate passes completed (340 v 203), more tackles won (17 v 16) and more interceptions (7 v 6), it wasn't easy for Newcastle to take all three points from the Bees, and the St James' Park faithful will be feeling that luck was firmly on their side after that performance.
In the first half, Newcastle were completely disjointed, with the usual stalwarts in the team struggling to have a positive influence on the game, which ultimately led to Sven Botman giving away a penalty for a reckless tackle on Kevin Schade.
Luckily for the Magpies, former Newcastle striker Ivan Toney missed his penalty after facing Nick Pope, however, it wasn't long before the visitors gave away another spot kick, which was converted by Toney to give Brentford the lead at half-time.
Newcastle finally came to life when Howe made two gamechanging substitutions at the break, with Callum Wilson and Anthony Gordon coming on, which sparked a massive turnaround in the performance.
Joelinton whipped a ball across the goalline which ultimately delivered the equaliser due to an own goal from David Raya, and the inevitable Alexander Isak scored the second to kill the game and snatch all three points from the Gtech Community Stadium.
How did Joelinton get on vs Brentford?
The striker-turned-midfielder has been a standout performer in the team throughout their rise to success this season, and although playing in the wide-forward position today, the Brazilian showed his quality, versatility and persistence after a questionable first half.
Over his 90-minute display, the £85k-per-week ace – hailed "exceptional" for his performance by journalist Jordan Cronin – had 58 touches, successfully completed three dribbles and accurately delivered 100% of his long balls.
Not only that, but his defensive output was outstanding in holding off Brentford's fight for an equaliser late in the second half – winning a whopping 11 duels, completing four clearances and two interceptions, as well as winning four tackles, proving he was a massive presence and an important influence in the well-fought victory.
That said, there is no doubt that Joelinton's transformation has been one of the biggest success stories on Tyneside since Howe's arrival, and his ability to take control of games has seen him become the lynchpin of Newcastle's rise to a potential spot in the Champions League next season.