Newcastle United captain Bruno Guimaraes believes the Magpies’ “lost control” of the game in their 4-2 defeat to Brentford at the Gtech Community Stadium, Soccernet.football reports.
A goal-blessed first half saw Newcastle twice come from behind with goals from Alexander Isak and Harvey Barnes. However, defensive lapses proved costly after the break, as Nathan Collins capitalized on a poorly defended free kick.
As the Magpies pushed for a late equalizer, their defense faltered again, enabling Kevin Schade to secure victory for the Bees with a clinical finish.
With this defeat, Newcastle United have now gone five Premier League matches without keeping a clean sheet. They have also conceded 11 goals in that time as well.
Magpies skipper Guimaraes made no excuses after the match, admitting his difficulty in understanding why the team has been struggling to handle direct attacks this season.
“It’s very disappointing. In the first half we had some good moments, but after the third goal we lost our way, we lost control,” he told PLP, via BBC Sport.
“We have always been reactive, we need to concede a goal to score one ourselves. We never score first, we concede a lot of goals, this cannot happen. We have to find a way to be consistent.
“After we conceded the third goal, we became a mess, gave the ball away a lot, and we were punished. We have to turn things around.
“Last season we had one of the best defences in the league, now we concede a lot. It’s about the whole team, we have to find a way not to concede.”