I have trouble reminding the last time that I saw Liverpool as inflamed and surpassed when they were in Wembley on Sunday, not in the least in midfield.
The bullies were bullied and Joelinton was the brilliant brutal that ran in the lead, as the child from year 11 plays with the year 10s in a competition at school.
Then Burn won the Man of the Match Award, and there is no fight with giving that honor to the boy from Blyth after that beautiful header.
But just like that, Newcastle may never have been triumph, were it not for their 28-year-old Brazilian giant in midfield.
Devil
Joelinton is that guy. The person you can't stand when he is against you.
Damn annoying. Smart. Full of confidence. Conniving. Get rid of murder away from the referees, you don't know.
But if he plays for you, you love him, and Newcastle certainly does that. Eddie Howe would not exchange him, regardless of who you offered.
He is a warrior – his warrior – and energetically. Even with 100 minutes and 20 seconds on the clock at Wembley, there he grabbed Harvey Elliott cynically to be able to prevent him from contributing to a counterattack in Liverpool.
At that time, Elliott became his rag doll and Joelinton escaped without a yellow card for that, because John Brooks had no eyes in mind.
You need that when he is hunting. I feel that his devil has grown in Newcastle over time.
Perhaps it was always deep inside, but he has tightened it into such skills that he has now made it his own.
Brain
When Celtic signed Johan Mjallby in 1998, he joined as a midfielder, but became a center back.
It is not as easy as clicking on your fingers and say, “Exactly, this is your new position, of your doll and good luck.” It requires work and I remember that boss Martin O'Neill Mjallby was constantly coaching him better.
The credit has to go to Joelinton for his own transition from Spits to midfielder, but also to Howe for the support he has shown him.
He saw sufficient intelligence in this Brazilian international that he was convinced that he could learn a new role and apparently that he has.
He protected the backline against Liverpool and helped Tino Livramento more specifically to prevent Mohamed Salah Mohamed Salah.
For the first time in his career in Liverpool, neither Salah nor a shot tried or created nor a chance in a match where he played for more than 90 minutes.
There was a time when Joelinton was a laugh in English football. Well, who laughs now?
Cheese
When Newcastle Joelinton signed as a striker for £ 40 million of Hoffenheim in 2019, the fans might have expected alternative attributes from a Brazilian.
Some Samba Flair, for example, such as West Ham enjoyed Lucas Paqueta. But Joelinton came armed with his own characteristics.
He has the brain that I mentioned, which gives him the confidence to play in every position. No 6, no. 8, no. 10, no. 9 – Whatever number you get from the bingo bag, he will try.
But it is the muscle strength that helps him to do a work where he is needed. Opponents know that they will not have it easy and that they should at least expect a scrap.
I played with a few teammates who had a physicality who could not be matched-good-good-old Bobo Balde-en Joelinton is so hard to beat in a fight.
Howe likes that his midfielders progress the field while it contributes to his positive playing style. Good luck with bumping Joelinton from the ball when he gets forward.
RESISTANCE
Joelinton started his career at Sport Club Do Recife in Pernambuco, Brazil. The temperatures were there on Monday in the 1930s. They are usually.
When he moved to Germany with Hoffenheim in 2015, it was difficult, cold and challenging. Joelinton himself made jokes that he had to buy his first jacket.
I like such stories. It shows resilience, just like the way Joelinton dealt with the Jibes after he came to Newcastle.
That he was a flop. That he was sin. That they have paid £ 40 million too much for him. But he has reinvented himself.
It takes a huge mental force to do what he did, especially while he does it in the ruthless playground of the Premier League.
Defensive
Call me the commander of the Celebration Police if you want, but I am not the biggest fan of players who celebrate tackles and the like.
Goals? Certainly. But a block? Not for me. Yet Joelinton clearly likes it and it was on a full show at Wembley.
Newcastle has some of the best supporters in world football, good people who work hard during the week and then want to see their players give nothing less than total commitment during the weekend.
They respond to those shows in force, especially when Joelinton asks for noise from them.
They love him and we all saw why on Sunday.
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