Newcastle United confidently got back to winning ways against Athletic Club in the Champions League on Wednesday night.
Whenever Eddie Howe’s downbeat Magpies have needed a confidence boost, they have relied on Europe’s elite competition so far this season, with three wins from four in the Champions League now, a far cry from their Premier League form, where they have registered only three wins from ten clashes.
The 2-0 victory that was comfortably picked up against Ernesto Valverde’s visitors would have also been a great morale booster for both Dan Burn and Joelinton, with the under-fire pair amongst the goals to steer Howe’s men to another mid-week victory on Europe’s grandest stage.
Burn & Joelinton's Champions League revival
Safe to say, neither player in question were in the good books at St. James’ Park against West Ham United.
Combined, the Blyth-born centre-back and the Brazilian would only win four of their 11 duels at the London Stadium, with Alan Shearer’s comments that the overall team performance against the Hammers was “lethargic” stemming somewhat from the declining duo’s half-hearted showings.
Yet, this time around, Burn certainly got the Shearer seal of approval when he headed home a thumping effort to gift the Toon a 1-0 lead.
On top of getting the ball rolling on Tyneside, the 6-foot-7 warrior would also come away from the 2-0 win with seven duels won and four ball recoveries, with the star his side has relied on over the years to be physical and valiant back at the forefront against the visitors from Bilbao.
Joelinton also looked back to his intimidating best when he fired home the game-clinching second for the Magpies, with the number 7 shaking off any recent signs of decay, too, when winning his own high tally of four duels.
Yet, while it is encouraging that both Newcastle stalwarts put in significantly improved performances, the worry will be that they will just revert to putting in sub-standard displays when the bread and butter of the Premier League returns.
The same is unlikely to be said of their Player of the Season so far.
Newcastle star looks like their Player of the Season already
There are a couple of names that spring to mind to be in the running to be an early contender for Newcastle’s player of the season prize.
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Nick Woltemade has instantly hit the ground running with four Premier League goals after a bumper £65m move from Stuttgart. Yet, he was quiet during the 2-0 win, with only one shot on goal and nine accurate passes next to his name.
Sandro Tonali is also very much at the top of the Newcastle list when looking at who has stood out this season, but it was surely expected that the Italian would be classy again this campaign, having once been noted as a possible £100m player for the future on Tyneside.
On the contrary, while Magpies fans would have been excited this summer that more centre-back depth had been sought after, nobody would have quite been anticipating the instant success Malick Thiaw would find in his new location, after leaving AC Milan behind.
Indeed, Thiaw has already been described as an “incredible bit of business” by Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, and for good reason, too, as the £35m spent on his services this summer continues to look like a very wise investment.
In the Premier League this season, the German has looked unfazed by whatever new challenge awaits him, with an 87% pass accuracy, on top of him winning a rock-solid 4.9 duels per game.
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
89
Accurate passes
67/75 (87%)
Successful dribbles
1/1
Interceptions
1
Clearances
6
Blocked shots
2
Ball recoveries
5
Total duels won
10/12
He continued his near faultless start to life in England with yet another composed showing on Wednesday night, with an impressive six clearances and five ball recoveries amassed when doing his defensive basics flawlessly.
Winning ten duels, too, which eclipsed Burn’s own sturdy haul on the night, while registering a high 67 passes, the hope will be that the 6-foot-4 fan favourite only gets better with time, having already made a compelling enough argument to be one of Newcastle’s candidates for Player of the Season, just 13 games into his Tyneside stay.
Thiaw spoke of his desire to be taken to the “next level” under Howe’s guidance when joining in the summer, after a stop-start time in Italy, with the first steps he’s made at St James’ Park showing off a star that’s already bloomed into a guaranteed starter.
