One of the most frustrating defeats of the campaign. Fulham were drastically improved from their poor performance at Nottingham Forest on Wednesday, but then it would have been staggering if they were worse than at the City Ground. But the Whites didn’t heed Marco Silva’s words about the need to be clinical to beat Newcastle – and paid the price.

Bernd Leno: The German goalkeeper did very little wrong. Raced off his line like the adept sweeper-keeper to prevent Alexander Isak making the most of a rare Newcastle chance in the first half, but dealt with everything the Geordies threw at him capably until Bruno Guimaraes’ winner. 7

Timothy Castagne: An assured return to the starting line-up for the Belgian after the Tete horror show at the City Ground. Had a couple of iffy moments against Anthony Gordon, but kept the lively winger quiet for long periods by getting forward effectively himself. Almost provided an assist with a sublime stretching cutback from the byline for Joao Palhinha, who shot wide. 7

Antonee Robinson: Could have scored inside the first three minutes, but this ended up being a frustrating afternoon for the American. His crossing didn’t match his astonishing athleticism as Fulham failed to make the most of dominating proceedings for long periods and the left back was culpable when he failed to properly clear Harvey Barnes’ cross – and Guimaraes stepped up to slot home. 6

Tosin Adarabioyo: The former Manchester City defender was perhaps fortunate to remain in the starting line-up following the defeat at Forest, but Tosin dealt with Alexander Isak fairly comfortably and strode forward impressively with the ball, laying on that early chance for Robinson. Unfortunate to be on the losing side. 7

Calvin Bassey: Bassey wasn’t as prominent as he has been in previous weeks but that was because Fulham did an excellent job of taking the game to their opponents. Used the ball intelligently and kept the home side going forward where possible in a display that emphasised the Nigerian’s status as Fulham’s leading left-sided centre back. 7

Joao Palhinha: The Portuguese international was pivotal to the home side dominating the engine room and marshalled the midfield with plenty of cajoling and encouragement of his team-mates too. Palhinha will know he should have scored inside the first 20 minutes rather than firing wide after Castagne picked him out in the area, but he was far from the only man to fluff his lines in front of goal. 7

Tom Cairney: The captain conducted proceedings with class on his return to the starting line-up – orchestrating plenty of Fulham attacks in a lively start that saw Eddie Howe’s side camped in their own half. Looked to always have time on the ball and drove the hosts forward. It was noticeable that the Whites were less dominant once he was withdrawn midway through the second period. 7

Alex Iwobi: Made a bright start, troubling the highly-rated Lewis Hall with a combination of pace and invention, but couldn’t ultimately unlock the Newcastle defence. Prompted plenty of openings from his initial wide right role, but was less effective in the number ten role following Silva’s second half substitutions. 6

Willian: Still a class act – even at 35. Willian was simply wondrous in the first half, linking up well with Antonee Robinson along the left flank but spurned his own fair share of good chances whilst the Whites were on top. The Brazilian makes Fulham a much more threatening outfit – and it was no surprise that their creativity dimmed once he made way midway through the second period. 7

Andreas Pereira: Plenty of endeavour from the Brazilian, but he will rue a dreadful headed miss just after the half hour mark. He almost created an opener for Rodrigo Muniz before half time but faded as Newcastle improved in the second half – and was an obvious candidate to be replaced as Fulham sought to rediscover their first half fluency. 6

Rodrigo Muniz: An off-day for the hitherto red-hot Brazilian. Had a couple of good chances towards the end of the first half, seeing one shot blocked and then shooting too close to Martin Dubravka after taking advantage of some confusion in the Newcastle defence. Had little to feed off after the interval – and was replaced late on as Fulham looked for a late leveller. 6

Substitutes:

Sasa Lukic: Added a bit of bite in midfield, but was unfortunate to be almost immediately booked given what referee Sam Allison had let go previously. Drove forward courageously in the latter stages but couldn’t inspire another late fightback. 6

Harry Wilson: Whipped in a wonderful free-kick that no white shirt could convert shortly after coming on, but couldn’t provide a telling ball in the closing stages after Newcastle had taken the lead. The Welshman became the set-piece taker in the absence of Pereira and Willian, but most infuriatingly wasted a good crossing opportunity from open play deep into stoppage time. 6

Adama Traore: The Spanish winger made a real difference when he came on – frightening the Newcastle defence with his blistering pace. Put in a brilliant cross to the back post with three minutes to go but neither Raul Jimenez or Amando Broja had made their way to the back post. He probably deserves a start soon. 7

Armando Broja: Almost punished some sloppy defending shortly after he had come on for the last five minutes after closing down Fabian Schar, but didn’t have a goalscoring chance. 6

Raul Jimenez: The Mexican put himself about but didn’t get an opportunity in front of goal. 6