Howe must finally bin 5/10 Newcastle dud who was "very sloppy" vs Spurs
Newcastle United dropped more points in the Premier League on Tuesday night, drawing 2-2 at home to Tottenham Hotspur in a chaotic game.
Eddie Howe’s side were the dominant team at St. James’ Park, but could not prevent Spurs’ only two shots on target from going in the back of the net.
After a goalless first half, it took until the 71st minute for the deadlock to be broken. It was Magpies midfielder Bruno Guimaraes who opened the scoring. He strolled onto Nick Woltemade’s layoff and fired home to give his side the lead, after good play by Anthony Gordon.
Just six minutes later, Spurs had their equaliser. Cristian Romero got in front of Dan Burn to score a clever diving header at the near post.
However, it did not take long for the home side to get back in front. They won a contentious penalty, which Gordon emphatically scored, his first Premier League strike since January.
Just as it looked like the Magpies might hold on, Spurs equalised, five minutes into added time. It was their captain, Romero, again, whose acrobatic overhead kick somehow found its way through a mass of Newcastle shirts and into the back of the net.
It was a disappointing result for the Magpies in a game they dominated. Indeed, their attack left a little to be desired.
Newcastle’s misfiring attack vs. Spurs
After scoring four goals at the Hill Dickinson Stadium against Everton last weekend, the Magpies might have expected to continue that sort of form.
However, they could only turn their 19 shots, and seven on target, into two goals, which proved to be too few.
One man who struggled to get into the game was Woltemade.
Although he grabbed the assist for Guimaraes’ goal, a neat lay-off into the Brazilian’s path, it was a tough night against the physicality of Romero and Mickey van de Ven.
The summer signing only had 36 touches of the ball and lost possession 12 times, as per Sofascore. He could only muster two shots and was often left fairly isolated against the Spurs centre-backs.
Another attacker who struggled for the Magpies was Jacob Murphy. The winger was unusually sloppy in the final third, completing just three out of ten attempted crosses.
Jordan Cronin, journalist for Newcastle World, said he ‘lacked conviction and concentration’ during the game.
However, it was not just Woltemade and Murphy who struggled against the Lilywhites.
Newcastle’s most disappointing player vs. Spurs
For all their domination, the Magpies struggled to get a real grip on the game. Indeed, Joelinton was another player who looked off the pace and did not have the sort of impact going forward that Howe might have wanted from him.
It was notable just how poorly the Brazilian performed on Tuesday night. Cronin was one of the people who criticised him, giving him a 5/10 for his efforts and explaining that he ‘needlessly gave the ball away’ too many times.
His fellow journalist, Charlie Bennett, also noted that Joelinton was “very sloppy” on the ball. The stats back that theory up, with Newcastle’s number seven losing the ball 11 times out of 49 touches, and having a pass accuracy of just 83%.
Joelinton vs. Spurs
Stat
Record
Touches
49
Pass accuracy
83%
Possession lost
11
Ground duels won
3/10
Number of times dribbled past
3
Key passes
1
Stats from Sofascore
It feels like Howe has an interesting selection call to make ahead of Newcastle’s next game, at home against Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
It is a game you can expect the Magpies to dominate, so perhaps their manager will want midfielders who look after the ball better.
Chalkboard
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There are options, too. It seems almost certain that Guimaraes will slot back into the side after he only played 45 minutes on Tuesday, replacing Sandro Tonali.
Lewis Miley would deserve to keep his place in the starting lineup, and Jacob Ramsey is another player who could come into the fold.
Joelinton’s poor showing against Spurs may well have cost him his place in the side. Howe has other players at his disposal, all of whom may offer him extra quality on the ball.
It would certainly not be a surprise if Joelinton was rotated out of the side against the Clarets.
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