Newcastle United's Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimaraes

When the chips are down and times are tough, all teams need their leaders to stand up and be counted. That's exactly what happened to Newcastle United this week.

The noise around the Magpies had picked up in the aftermath of two really poor Premier League performances against West Ham United and Brentford, which resulted in two defeats. Criticism was rightly aimed at the players and management, but the response was crucial.

Much has been made of the leadership group created by Eddie Howe and the senior players in that party are vital to the way Howe wants to run his team.

Kieran Trippier stepped up and spoke out in midweek while others led by example on the pitch against Manchester City, no more so than Bruno Guimaraes.

The B

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