Bruno Guimaraes was gushing in his praise of Nick Pope. Newcastle had just beaten Southampton 1-0 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi final, and they had their goalkeeper, at least in part, to thank for it.<\/p>\n
The performance was unerring dominant again overall, and it still jars to think how normal that is. There were chances missed, again, and decisions that didn\u2019t go their way, but through Joelinton\u2019s second half strike, Newcastle have one foot in a Wembley Cup final and a licence to dream. It wasn\u2019t plain sailing, certainly not to the degree it has been for much of the past three months or so. Pope was required on more than one occasion, beaten by Adam Armstrong until VAR intervened, but he was immovable again, earning a 10th clean sheet in a row since Newcastle\u2019s last visit to St Mary\u2019s in November.<\/p>\n
“I’d like to say thank you to Nick Pope – he has been brilliant for us,\u201d Guimaraes told Sky Sports. \u201cHe is the best goalkeeper in the world.”<\/p>\n
Considering the midfielder has just returned from the World Cup with Brazil, alongside both Alisson and Ederson, that is quite the opinion to hold. Not many will agree with it, but as the likes of Guimaraes himself, Kieran Trippier and Sven Botman take a lot of the acclaim for Newcastle\u2019s incredible season, Pope has quietly been their most consistent performer to date. Why hasn\u2019t he been given similar credit? Simply because he hasn\u2019t needed to show the best of his ability that often. Newcastle and Eddie Howe have created a defensive machine with a back five that has not changed in a long time, but the fact Pope can keep his concentration to be there every time he is needed is incredible.<\/p>\n
There are three stages to Newcastle\u2019s defence. First, there is the midfield press; Sean Longstaff, Joe Willock and Joelinton squeeze high on the opposition to regain possession, while Guimaraes sweeps up from deep before dictating play with the ball. The defence joins with a high line to make this pressure more effective, but the second phase occurs when that press is broken. Newcastle retreat effectively and defend their area, allowing no crosses, blocking when needed and cutting out through balls. The design of the back line is deliberate, with height the key component for Botman, Dan Burn and Fabian Sch\u00e4r in particular.<\/p>\n
Pope, who stands at 6\u20193, contributes to that too but he is the safety belt. It is incredibly rare that a team can bypass both of Newcastle\u2019s first two defensive line, which is precisely why they are the toughest team to break down in the Premier League. Southampton did, though, and there was one moment in particular where Pope was called into action.<\/p>\n
Che Adams was bearing down on goal and in acres of space. Southampton had barely looked like scoring until then, but deep into the second half, they\u2019d begun to improve markedly. If they were going to score, this felt like the time. But the striker had Pope to beat; perhaps it was down to his own lack of goals lately, Pope\u2019s imposing frame or his recent form or an amalgamation of the three, but he never looked like scoring. Nevertheless, the goalkeeper went from something of a spectator in the game to the man standing between Newcastle and a potentially disastrous development in the tie in a matter of seconds.<\/p>\n
Pope earned praise from opposition boss Nathan Jones after the game, who claimed he shows \u201cwhat is required to be a top goalkeeper\u201d, rating him as the Premier League\u2019s best.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn terms of goalkeeping. Catching it, keeping the ball out of the net and making big saves – there isn’t a better goalkeeper in the Premier League,\u201d Jones told reporters after the game. \u201cA lot of keepers now are judged on how brilliant they are with their feet and how good they can play. Yes, there are certain ones that are better than Nick Pope, but in terms of being a goalkeeper and what is required from being a top goalkeeper, he is categorically the best in the Premier League.\u201d<\/p>\n
It isn\u2019t that Pope has been under-appreciated or taken for granted at Newcastle, but rather the fact that other areas of the team have been in the spotlight. Trippier and Guimaraes have had a huge impact in altering the team and club\u2019s entire mentality. Miguel Almiron\u2019s form has been the story of the season; right wing was seen as a weak link in the summer, and there were some who believed not signing a player would prove costly as the season got going. But the Paraguayan has arguably been Howe\u2019s best project yet, aside from Joelinton, and even though his goal contributions have dried up of late, he is still playing with the confidence, composure and intelligence that suggests his development has not been a flash in the pan.<\/p>\n
But there has been a lull in terms of Newcastle\u2019s potency and their defensive stealth is keeping their unbeaten run, sharpening its focus. Pope is reaping the benefits from that.<\/p>\n
The future looks incredibly bright for Newcastle, with Champions League on the horizon. They are ahead of schedule, but players of that quality are in the squad already. He may not have been viewed that way initially, but Pope has shown that he is certainly ready for that challenge.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Bruno Guimaraes was gushing in his praise of Nick Pope. Newcastle had just beaten Southampton 1-0 in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi final, and they had their goalkeeper, at least in part, to thank for it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[643],"tags":[272],"class_list":["post-52623","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sport","tag-featurehome"],"yoast_head":"\n