Toon Takeaways from the late loss to Leicester City
Newcastle United lost a heartbreaker to Leicester City on a late own goal.
The winless streak for Newcastle United has reached seven as they were defeated late by Leicester City. Ayoze Perez’s own goal broke a 2-2 tie late in regulation.
Top Toons
Dwight Gayle: Easily the man of the match for Newcastle United. He set up Joselu for the early, opening goal and was the most active and confident player. He also scored for the second straight match and narrowly missed another.
Joselu: It wasn’t a perfect performance for the highly criticized striker, but it was one of his best performances for the Magpies. He calmly tapped home a 4th-minute pass from Gayle. He was also involved in the defense and build-up throughout the game.
Javier Manquillo: Returning to the left side, Manquillo brought a lot to the attack and showcased big bursts of speed at times. Unfortunately, he ran out of ideas at the end of a couple runs, but he was still a positive performer.
Mediocre Magpies
Mikel Merino: Completely overrun in the midfield. His distribution, which is usually his top skill, was off. That includes a bad giveaway leading to Riyad Mahrez’s first-half equalizer.
Ciaran Clark: There’s a solid chance Clark broke the world soccer record for backward passes and clearances out of play. He did not contribute to the attack and didn’t look sure of himself moving forward.
Karl Darlow: He has to make that first save. Newcastle had the lead and allowing that equalizer crushed their confidence.
Quick Kicks
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-Obviously, Ayoze Perez could be on the Mediocre Magpies list for his own goal. But, it was a high effort play to get back to defend and an unfortunate result.
-It was good to see Christian Atsu back. He made a positive impact on the match coming on in the second half.
-This match was begging for Jonjo Shelvey. The midfield magician could have brought confidence and creativity to a side desperately needing both. Surprising Rafa didn’t bring him on.
-Another poor outing from Matt Ritchie. I would love to see a Jacob Murphy-Atsu combo on the wings midweek. That’s a lot of pace and could give any defense trouble.
-Watching Riyad Mahrez today shows what Newcastle direly need: someone who can take over a match. While I know a player like Mahrez is well out of their range and he didn’t dominate the entire match, there’s no player on the roster who can make those match-altering plays like his first goal. Shelvey may have some of that ability, but he rarely uses it and is out of favor with Rafa currently.
What’s Next?
Newcastle United will take on Everton midweek. Everton has won their last two Premier League matches and takes on Liverpool tomorrow.