Rodrigo Muniz scored late to salvage a 1-1 draw for Fulham against Newcastle United at Craven Cottage, cancelling out Jacob Murphy’s spectacular opener.
Murphy Stunner Breaches Leno Before Muniz Responds
The match remained scoreless through a first half that saw Newcastle dominate chances despite sustained early pressure from the hosts. Oscar Bobb had an early curling effort turned away by goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek, while Gonzalo Garcia headed onto the crossbar from the resulting corner. Newcastle twice came close through Harvey Barnes, who was denied by Bernd Leno’s outstretched leg and later saw a shot saved at the near point, according to FotMob.
Newcastle thought they had broken the deadlock in the 33rd minute when Dan Burn poked home from a corner, but referee Robert Jones ruled the goal out after a VAR check confirmed that Yoane Wissa had held Timothy Castagne at the back post. The Premier League Match Centre noted that Wissa made a deliberate attempt to hold the Fulham defender.
The deadlock finally broke in the 80th minute. After César Palacios gave away possession with a loose pass across midfield, Murphy raced forward, cut inside, and unleashed a 25-yard left-footed drive past Leno, as reported by The False 9. Murphy celebrated by cupping his hand to his ear in response to recent criticism from supporters over his performances during the past 18 months, as detailed by Yahoo.
Muniz Equaliser Salvages Point for Arbeloa’s Side
Fulham responded less than three minutes later. Palacios atoned for his earlier error by smuggling the ball across the box, where a deflection fell into the path of substitute Rodrigo Muniz. The Brazilian striker flicked an inventive shot past Hornicek, scoring his first league goal since August 2025, according to The Guardian.
Newcastle were marking us man to man,
Fulham head coach Álvaro Arbeloa said, explaining his decision to introduce the target man in place of Gonzalo García. They forced us to play long balls and Rodrigo is very strong in this situation. He got his chance. It is very important for us because I need a player like Rodrigo. He can score goals but create so many chances.
Jaissle Decries Soft Decision as Late Chances Go Begging
Both goalkeepers were called into action during stoppage time to preserve the draw. Hornicek produced a flying stop to deny Ryan Sessegnon’s half-volley, while Leno saved a late attempt from Lewis Hall, who had driven into the box on his weaker right foot, as noted by BBC Sport.
Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle expressed frustration over the disallowed first-half goal, drawing a comparison to a recent league fixture against Everton. I learned that here, the phrase ‘soft decision’. That’s what I meant,
Jaissle told Sky Sports. Without taking it as an excuse, last week we had an occasion where [Fabian Schär] was bleeding in the face and to have this as a comparison, it’s difficult to understand but that’s my point of view without paying any fines.
Despite dropping two points late, Jaissle praised his side’s overall display following Monday’s defeat. In all phases of the game, especially when the game was going on, the first 20-15 minutes you saw a bit of lack of confidence from the last weeks, but how we grew up throughout that game was excellent, and again, something to build on,
he said, according to the Shields Gazette.