Newcastle United claimed their first home victory of the season yesterday thanks to the implementation of new tactics.
Newcastle United managed to temporarily escape the drop zone with a crucial 1-0 victory over Manchester United at St. James’ Park yesterday. After suffering a 5-0 defeat to Leicester City last weekend, all eyes were on Steve Bruce to see if he could turn things around and get the best out of his players. Well, Bruce got the job done and he made some bold decisions in the process.
Newcastle United were out of sync last weekend, but they looked like a well-oiled machine yesterday as Bruce finally found the formation that best suits his squad. The former Sheffield Wednesday boss decided to take a page out of Rafa Benitez’s playbook by deploying a 3-4-3 formation.
This shape enabled the Magpies to get on the front foot and that was reflected in the team’s ability to create a season-best eight chances in the first half. Joelinton had more support around him and Newcastle United covered a lot of ground by spreading the ball around from one wing to the other.
In addition to selecting the right formation, Bruce took some gambles that paid off for him when selecting his starting eleven. DeAndre Yedlin made his first start of the 2019-20 Premier League campaign. Paul Dummett was dropped for Ciaran Clark, Matty Longstaff made his Premier League debut in the middle of the park and Allan Saint-Maximin replaced Christian Atsu out wide on the right flank.
Ciaran Clark didn’t do anything extraordinary yesterday, but he also didn’t make any mistakes, so he was a safe change for Bruce. DeAndre Yedlin was a workhorse on both ends of the pitch. He made some silly fouls, but overall he played well enough to earn more starts over the next few weeks.
Allan Saint-Maximin and Matty Longstaff were, hands down, the two most influential players on the pitch. Manchester United had no answer for Saint-Maximin as he frequently took on multiple defenders, successfully got around them and kept firing shots from distance.
Longstaff was just as tough to contain in the middle of the park. His energy was unmatched in midfield, he intercepted multiple passes and looked comfortable on the ball as he switched the field of play with success and ease. Most importantly, though, Longstaff’s goal in the 72nd minute sealed the deal for Newcastle United against a superior opponent at home.
Steve Bruce has made his fair share of tactical errors this season, but he got it right this weekend. Yesterday’s performance gives Bruce a good idea of how he should play in upcoming fixtures and fans should be excited about this attacking style of play.