Newcastle United finish level with Southampton, 0-0

Newcastle United settled for a 0-0 draw on the road against Southampton.

Newcastle United have earned yet another 0-0 draw on the road. Southampton were the better side and they clearly dominated the match without much conviction. This match was largely uneventful and there was no urgency from Newcastle to make their temporary departure from the relegation zone.

Rafa Benitez will certainly be disappointed with this result as his Magpies are desperate for a victory. With three points from ten matches, Newcastle are officially becoming favorites to go down to the EFL Championship. Here is the analysis of today’s 0-0 draw against Southampton.

First Half

In all honesty, this section should be left empty due to this being the worst 45 minutes of football I have ever witnessed. However, for the sake of professionalism, here is a brief analysis. The opening 15 minutes were dominated by Southampton as Newcastle were forced to defend in large numbers.

Aside from a tight angle shot that grazed the woodwork and went out of play for Southampton, neither side had any real chances in the first half. The major positive for both teams was their compact defending. Neither team was able to fully break past each other’s defensive units.

Defenders from both teams were quick to intercept passes, recover balls deep in midfield and clear the ball with plenty of distance. Overall, it was a quiet first half that was hard to watch knowing that both teams were expected to play with urgency.

Second Half

The second half was essentially a continuation of the first 45 minutes of action. Newcastle failed to threaten the home side with only three shots that were nowhere near goal. Southampton continued to pile on the attack and they finished the match with 22 shot attempts. Fortunately for the Magpies, the Saints also struggled with their precision as they only managed to hit four shots on target.

Southampton did well in spreading the ball out wide and cutting in to the center of the park to create scoring opportunities. It was not until the final 20 minutes when Newcastle began utilizing the wings to try and feed Salomon Rondon, who came on as a sub in the 68th minute, with some crosses.

One noticeable observation was that Newcastle certainly looked more aggressive and played with more energy with Rondon, Ki Sung-yueng and Christian Atsu on the field. Rafa Benitez will have some lineup decisions to make ahead of the team’s next match against Watford, but he should strongly consider playing Rondon up top and Ki in the middle with Jonjo Shelvey.

All in all, Newcastle did not look good today. The Magpies struggled far more than anyone would have expected against a mediocre Southampton side. This is the second straight match that Newcastle dropped crucial points in and they will have an even more difficult time trying to get three points from Watford next weekend.