The Media Review: Welbeck strikes to beat Newcastle again

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Danny Welbeck's double caught the eye of the watching media.

Nick Szczepanik

2025-10-19T11:15+01:00

Danny Welbeck has now scored 41 goals in his Albion career. 📷 by James Boardman.

There are no prizes for guessing who the media saw as Albion’s key performer in the 2-1 victory over Newcastle United. Danny Welbeck continued his scoring streak against the Magpies with a brace and the reporters lauded him accordingly.

In The Sun on Sunday, Justin Allen wrote that “Danny Welbeck is on fire right now and his superb double at the Amex lifted Brighton into the top half.

“The former Manchester United and Arsenal striker dinked the ball nonchalantly over Nick Pope just before the break to put the Seagulls in front.

“And as Newcastle were looking like they might go on to snatch victory after Nick Woltemade levelled, Welbeck pounced with six minutes left.

Big performance, big win 💪🏿💙🤍
Happy to chip in with a couple 😏⚽️⚽️#BHAFC pic.twitter.com/xt8whK3qq6
— Danny Welbeck (@DannyWelbeck) October 18, 2025

“He has now scored four goals in the last three games and not only grabbed Brighton their third league win of the season but extended their unbeaten run to five matches.

“Eddie Howe’s Geordies have NEVER won at the Amex [in the Premier League] and they faced a Brighton side who have already beaten Manchester City and Chelsea this season.”

In The Mail on Sunday, Matt Barlow contrasted Albion’s veteran striker with the new kid on the Premier League block.

“Nick Woltemade has added something fresh and interesting to the Premier League,” he wrote. “And his delectable flick to haul Newcastle level at Brighton was a finish to grace any end-of-season highlights reel.

“And yet here he was upstaged by one of English football's old stagers. Danny Welbeck, 35 next month and improving with age.

“Welbeck is firmly in the habit of upsetting Newcastle. He has scored the winner against them three times in the last 12 months. Twice at St James' Park last season, in the FA Cup in March and in the Premier League in October.

“Here, his goals either side of Woltemade's equaliser, clinched the points for Brighton and boss Fabian Hurzeler admitted he had been thinking of taking his centre-forward off when he pounced for the winner. It just goes to show you can get lucky with changes even when you don't make them.”

In The Sunday Telegraph, Tim Wigmore recalled Albion’s signing of ‘Dat Guy’ five years ago, writing that “when Danny Welbeck joined Brighton in October 2020, it was easy to depict the move as a postscript in a career winding down.

“Welbeck was almost 30; injuries long ago seemed to have marked him with the athlete’s dreaded moniker of unfulfilled potential. After being let go by Arsenal, in 2019, he mustered just three goals in 14 months for Watford before being released by the club too.

“Brighton’s recruitment of Welbeck on a free transfer seemed little more than a low-stakes curiosity. Yet, five years later, one month shy of turning 35, Welbeck might just be in the best form of his career. Welbeck has never been a forward best judged by the metric of goals, such is his all-round contribution. But his two goals against Newcastle were his second match-winning brace in three Premier League matches, following his double at Stamford Bridge last month.

Photo 1/25

A brace for Danny Welbeck either side of Nick Woltemade’s back-heel ensured Albion secured all three points at the Amex on Saturday afternoon. Club photographers Paul Hazlewood, James Boardman, Simon Roe and Sam Stephenson were on hand to capture all the action.

“The first strike at Amex Stadium, in the 41st minute, showed Welbeck’s refined finishing ability. A delicate weighted pass by Georginio Rutter set Welbeck through on goal, allowing him to chip the ball past Nick Pope: ample reward for Brighton’s dominance of the opening half.

“Welbeck’s winning goal, six minutes from full time, was more instinctive. Dan Burn, a Brighton player until the Saudi Arabian takeover of Newcastle, tackled Mats Wieffer as he was about to shoot. The ball then drifted to Welbeck, 18 yards out. With his first touch, he crashed the decisive goal past Pope.

“Hürzeler’s high-pressing style left Newcastle constantly harried in the first half, exemplified by how Yankuba Minteh targeted left-back Burn, exploiting the 12-year age gap between the pair. While Minteh’s final ball does not always match the pace and chicanery that comes before, here was further evidence of why Brighton consider the £30m that they spent to sign him from Newcastle last year money well spent.”

John Brewin of The Guardian took a slightly different line, contrasting the age and experience in the two line-ups.

“As Brighton’s young hearts ran free, a canny campaigner condemned Newcastle to another defeat at the stadium where they have never won,” he wrote. “Danny Welbeck’s two goals were moments of rare composure amid a slugfest of a contest. They denied the Toon Army’s latest folk hero after Nick Woltemade’s backheel flick had levelled the scoring.

“A midfield of Sandro Tonali, Joelinton and Bruno Guimarães represented a significant test for the callow Brighton duo of Carlos Baleba, 21, and Yasin Ayari, 22. The Newcastle trio have claims on being the best unit in English football, but in the first half the youthful duo assumed near-total control.

“A flurry of Brighton chances should have killed off the contest far earlier but youthful potential will not always deliver. Step forward the striker who is 35 next month. To break the deadlock, Georginio Rutter set Welbeck up to dab past Nick Pope; the striker’s finishing gets better as he ages.

“An inability to kill off opponents is a Brighton trademark, and when Murphy clanked wide, familiar anxieties grew. Guimarães, last man standing of Newcastle’s midfield triumvirate, engineered the momentum that brought Woltemade’s goal. It would take Welbeck, a Burn tackle on Mats Wieffer falling loose, to coax Brighton to a win that might have been theirs many times over.”

Heyyy, Danny Welbeck... 🎶 pic.twitter.com/aa9nSGmXY6
— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) October 18, 2025

On the BBC website, Ciaran Kelly highlighted the team’s resilience. “This Brighton side never give up,” he wrote. “Not only when they go behind – having clawed back more points from losing positions than any other Premier League team since Fabian Hurzeler took charge – but, also, when conceding a late equaliser.

“Brighton could have folded or tried to see the game out as Newcastle pushed for a winner. But the hosts broke forward and struck a decisive blow late on when Welbeck pounced on a loose ball to send Brighton fans wild after Mats Wieffer's initial shot was blocked by Dan Burn.

“Welbeck may be 34, but the forward is showing no signs of slowing down. The former England international has now scored four goals in his last three games, against Champions League opposition in Newcastle and Chelsea. No-one is going to enjoy coming to the Amex in the coming months.”