The entire team deserves a pat on the back for their two recent victories, but three players in particular deserve to be praised.
Things are starting to look bright on Tyneside as Newcastle United have claimed two consecutive victories against Watford and Bournemouth at St. James’ Park. Those six points were earned as a result of collective effort and urgency, but some players truly stood out more than others.
On paper, Newcastle’s roster does not look like it should be threatened by relegation and it sure looked like the Magpies will avoid the drop thanks to top performances from Salomon Rondon, Ki Sung-yueng and Fabian Schar.
Salomon Rondon
Now that he has fully recovered from a thigh injury that kept him out of action for a month, Salomon Rondon is looking better and better each weekend. Rafa Benitez fought hard to bring Rondon to Newcastle and now we see why. The Venezuela international is a complete striker and he showcased his skills against Watford and Bournemouth.
Rondon essentially won every duel for 50/50 balls in both matches, held the ball up until more support got forward and, most importantly, scored two crucial and impressive goals. If Rondon can keep this form going, not only will Newcastle avoid relegation, but they can fight for another top ten finish.
Ki Sung-yueng
Ki Sung-yueng has the full backing of the Toon Army to start in midfield alongside Jonjo Shelvey. The South Korea international put his skills on display over the last two weeks and he was the greatest contributor in both victories.
Ki took over the reigns of leadership in midfield as he managed the flow of Newcastle’s attack, looked for and found open players all over the field, completed a great assist to Ayoze Perez and set up the goal for Rondon by finding Kenedy wide open to deliver a cross in the penalty area.
Fabian Schar
Finally, we have Fabian Schar. Of all the Newcastle newcomers, Schar came to Tyneside with a positive reputation and successful track record, but he struggled to earn playing time after the match against Chelsea several weeks ago. Schar’s recent performances over the last two weeks will certainly make Rafa Benitez take a closer look at the lineup he deploys each weekend.
Schar was aggressive and made timely tackles that disrupted the offensive flow of Watford and Bournemouth. Moreover, Schar showed that he can be a two-way player, meaning that he was not afraid to get involved in the attack along with DeAndre Yedlin. The Switzerland international defender has earned the respect of the manager, now it remains to be seen what role he will have when Jamaal Lascelles returns from injury.