Muniz comes off bench to salvage draw for Fulham after Murphy’s 25-yard stunner

Rodrigo Muniz came off the bench to score a late equaliser for Fulham against Newcastle in the Premier League on November 7, 2026, denying Newcastle a win after Jacob Murphy’s long-range strike. The draw extended Fulham’s unbeaten run to four games and delivered Muniz his first league goal of the season.

Newcastle arrived after a difficult week and an improved performance following a run of four defeats in five games in all competitions, while Matthias Jaissle had faced awkward questions over his tactics and training methods. Jaissle made four changes after accusing his players of not following instructions during last Monday’s defeat by Everton, and Álvaro Arbeloa’s Fulham side began with less intensity than the manager prefers.

Jaissle’s chosen plan was for Newcastle to sit deep and deny Fulham space in behind, a tactic that largely succeeded in a poor first half where both sides lacked fluency. Fulham’s Gonzalo García struggled against Newcastle’s centre-back pairing of Dan Burn and Malick Thiaw and demanded too many touches, while teenager Josh King showed urgency but often dropped into unthreatening areas.

Fulham created chances from an early error by Sean Steur, with Oscar Bobb and García testing Newcastle, but the visitors were comfortable without the ball and struggled to use possession effectively when they had it. Harvey Barnes emerged as Newcastle’s most dangerous attacking outlet, drawing two smart saves from Bernd Leno before half-time.

Newcastle thought they had taken the lead in the 33rd minute when Burn swept past Leno, but referee Rob Jones had already blown for an off-the-ball incident after spotting Yoane Wissa grappling with Timothy Castagne at the far post; the decision was described as a "clear holding offence" by the Premier League’s Match Centre. Newcastle went on to dominate the second half, with Barnes forcing another opportunity and Wissa dragging a shot into the side netting.

Fulham introduced Muniz for García but failed to gain momentum while Newcastle’s pressing intensified and King’s injury-enforced exit proved significant. César Palacios, introduced from the bench, misplayed an aimless pass across his own half and Murphy seized possession before cutting inside and walloping a brilliant shot past Leno from 25 yards in the 80th minute.

Palacios later played a part in the equaliser when he linked with Alex Iwobi and smuggled the ball to Muniz, whose strike looped past Lukas Hornicek after a deflection to level the match. Fulham pushed for a winner thereafter; Lewis Hall almost snatched the points for Newcastle, only for Leno to deny the left-back.

The contest was described in the match report as a forgettable game between two sides who are too close to the bottom three for comfort and a draw was fair.