Toon Takeaways from Newcastle’s poor performance vs. Burnley

Newcastle United turned in another dud on the road, losing 1-0 to Burnley at Turf Moor.

If you watched the entire Newcastle United match today vs. Burnley, you are a true fan and I am sorry you wasted your time. It was poor viewing overall with a shorthanded NUFC side losing 1-0 to Burnley at Turf Moor.

Lack of Aggressiveness from Atsu

This is not to simply compare Christian Atsu to Allan Saint-Maximin, but the difference between the two players was evident and detrimental to Newcastle today. ASM is all about pushing the action and taking chances. He works tirelessly to get to the end line or into the penalty area and he’s not afraid to shoot. Against Burnley, Atsu continually got the ball out wide and would make little to no effort to get to the corner and he would often play the ball back instead. Also, he made a chance to shoot in a good position after Andy Carroll set him up and he decided to pull the ball back and the play ended up with no shot. Going forward, pun intended, Newcastle United need more of a killer instinct from Atsu.

Sean Doesn’t Step Up

While Sean Longstaff was out due to suspension, Jonjo Shelvey stepped in to replace him and played so well he made himself the first-choice option. With Shelvey out today due to injury, Longstaff got a chance to stake his claim to a position. He did not. He was poor all day, in distribution and in set-piece delivery, and had a terrible giveaway that nearly ended with an insurance goal for Burnley. It was a great chance for the young midfielder to step up and he let it slip away.

Two Close Shots, Two Bad Misses

In a disappointing performance in the attack, Newcastle United had nine shots. Two of those were more noteworthy than the others. Early in the match, a lovely cross saw Andy Carroll crashing towards the goal but sending a close-range header wide. Then, late in the match, Joelinton served a perfect ball in for substitute Dwight Gayle, who somehow sent the sitter to the right of the goal. With limited chances to do damage, those two misses were devastating in the NUFC loss.

Quick Kicks

• Joelinton fouling Andy Carroll in the first half and drawing a whistle on Burnley was a sad but hilarious moment in this match.
• Speaking of the Brazilian forward, I don’t think he was great out wide by any means, but he was better than most of his performances as the lone striker. With Saint-Maximin out for at least a month, I’d like to see him stay in that position if Carroll’s body can hold up to starting.
• The Burnley fans and players were very frustrated as Newcastle played on after Erik Pieters went down with a non-head injury. Trailing by a goal, the Magpies had every right to keep pushing for an equalizer.
• It wasn’t a complete howler, but Martin Dubravka should have done better on the lone goal from Burnley. The no-call on Federico Fernandez going down to set up that corner was a close one, but I don’t think it was an egregious mistake by the referee.
• While this was definitely a poor performance from Newcastle, a 1-0 loss on the road can happen to really any side in the EPL during a long season (outside of this year’s immortal Liverpool side).

Okay, What’s Next?

Newcastle United will look to get back in the win column next Saturday when they host Crystal Palace. Roy Hodgson’s side plays Brighton on Monday and is unbeaten in three straight matches.