Newcastle United: 5 things we learned from the 3-0 win over Southampton
By Durim Halimi
Maximum effort and shooting precision enabled Newcastle United to gain three crucial points against Southampton at St. James’ Park.
It did not take long for Newcastle United to take control of the match against Southampton as the score was 1-0 in the first minute. The Magpies were able to maintain and extend their early lead to defeat the Saints by a score of 3-0.
St. James’ Park was jubilant from the opening whistle and that support certainly played a role in motivating the players on the pitch. Rafa Benitez deployed an attacking formation and his players implemented his agenda to perfection. Here are five things we learned from the victory on Saturday.
Kenedy
The Brazilian winger played the best match of his career against Southampton on Saturday. With two brilliant goals in the first half to give the Magpies a 2-0 lead, Kenedy showed he is worthy of a permanent move to Newcastle.
His ability to control the cross from Jonjo Shelvey and precisely place the ball into the goal in the first minute set the tone for the rest of the match. The promising youngster has not been in great form lately, but he secured three major points for Newcastle United.
Jonjo Shelvey
Jonjo Shelvey is one of the best facilitators in the Premier League. Shelvey’s ability to read runs before they even occur is fascinating. Where Kenedy was precise in his shooting on Saturday, Shelvey was accurate in his passing.
Shelvey’s role as a coordinator was on full display with his two assists in Newcastle’s first and third goals. In addition, Shelvey and Mohamed Diame maintained control of midfield and forced Southampton to inefficiently attack through the wings.
Clean Sheet
The clean sheet against Manchester United was the most impressive of the season, but the clean sheet against Southampton was the most important. Martin Dubravka had a comfortable afternoon as he was not tested by the Saints.
A major reason for this was the compact and well-organized defense of Newcastle United. DeAndre Yedlin and Paul Dummett had no trouble on the wings as Southampton struggled with their passing. Jamaal Lascelles and Florian Lejeune used their strength and length to intercept passes intended for the penalty area and disrupted several aerial through-balls.
Precision
This was lacking all season, but the Magpies finally made the most of their scoring opportunities. The Magpies had seven shot attempts on Saturday, with five shots being on-target and three of them finding the back of the net.
Not only did Newcastle’s shooting accuracy give the club three points, it aided the Magpies in improving their goal differential from -13 to -10. In a close relegation battle, this goal differential will be key in moving Newcastle up the table if they are level on points with other clubs.
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Home-Field Momentum
It is unfortunate that Newcastle must wait three weeks to play Huddersfield Town at St. James’ Park. However, the Magpies are undefeated at St. James’ Park in 2018 and they hope to continue that trend against relegation rivals Huddersfield Town on March 31. As long as Benitez is focused on attacking from the start of the match, Newcastle should gain three more points this month.