Christian Eriksen came out of the shadow he has been living in for the past eight months as Newcastle defeated Brentford 2-0 away.
As Brentford’s 10 men thought about a 2-0 defeat that could have a big impact on their chances of staying in the Premier League, Eriksen came out of the shadow.
If Christian Eriksen had already removed the images of his fall from his own mind, they were still there for the people who saw the midfielder’s return here.
During this game, Eriksen walked onto the field and ran past all of the memories that could have defined him. This was a moment that couldn’t have been imagined back then, when the significance of a football game was put into stark relief.
There was still a sense of apprehension in the midst of all the excitement about his return. It couldn’t be completely wiped out until now. There is still the small defibrillator in Eriksen’s chest as a long-term guarantee.
He unintentionally represents the fear that we all have that the lives we build can fall apart at any moment. This is a fact that could not be more true in the world right now.
And it’s a beautiful paradox that while football can be so pointless, here it was a way to get away from everything. Whenever Eriksen got the ball, he brought urgency to Brentford’s attack. It was no longer about miracles, but just how important the match was to him and the return to normalcy he had been looking for most.
It doesn’t matter how hard we try to make sports stories happen. They stay the same, no matter how hard we try. People don’t know for sure if the heroes or the underdogs will win.
Because Eriksen’s appearance will be a lasting memory of this afternoon, he alone couldn’t make Brentford come back.
Joelinton and Joe Willock scored goals before the half-time whistle to make sure that their fate was sealed. Newcastle were the bad guys in this story, but they were still the winners.
As a result of Eddie Howe’s sound footballing principles and fuel that has a lot of moral gray area, this was their fourth win in five league games.
Eriksen’s return was a big deal, but now it’s up to him to stop Brentford from going down. This result means that they have lost seven of their last eight league games. They haven’t won a game since Ivan Toney went on vacation at the start of the year, which has made things even worse for them.
