Newcastle United beat Manchester United 1-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Pundit Alan Shearer has told BBC Sport that he thinks Newcastle United still have plenty of work to do – and is calling on Islam Slimani to make a major impact.
The Magpies enjoyed a superb Sunday afternoon, as Matt Ritchie’s goal handed them a surprise 1-0 home win over Manchester United, boosting Rafael Benitez’s hopes of pulling away from the relegation zone.
After a run of just two wins in 17 games, Newcastle needed a morale-boosting win from somewhere, and they certainly got it against Jose Mourinho’s Red Devils.
Newcastle will now hope to kick on, with a key game against Bournemouth coming up, but club legend Alan Shearer has offered a warning to the Magpies.
Speaking to BBC Sport after Sunday’s win, Shearer suggested that one goal won’t be enough for Newcastle most weeks, and whilst their spirit and resilience got them through against Manchester United, they need more goals moving forward.
Shearer noted that he wants to see January signing Islam Slimani make a big impact, given that loanees Kenedy and Martin Dubravka have impressed so far, and the Leicester man needs to provide goals.
“I was not surprised the club did not spend more money in the January transfer window because of what was going on in the background with the failed takeover, and I know Benitez wanted to strengthen his squad more than he did,” said Shearer. “But two of the three signings he did make – Kenedy and Dubravka – have been excellent, and hopefully Islam Slimani will have the same impact in attack when he is fit.”
“It has been obvious all season that Newcastle need more firepower and, although it worked against Manchester United, scoring one goal will not get them a win every week. It was not enough against Burnley in their previous home game when Newcastle created lots of chances and missed a penalty, only to see their 1-0 lead pegged back in the final few minutes. The reason they managed to hold on this time was down to their spirit and resilience, which are both positives, but they are going to need more goals to go with that too. This was a brilliant win, but it remains incredibly tight at the bottom of the table and there is a lot more work to do,” he added.
Slimani may have endured a frustrating spell with Leicester, but the Algerian international certainly provides a goal threat, having proven himself as a deadly target man with Sporting in Portugal.
If Slimani can get anywhere close to recapturing that form, then Newcastle may be looking at more than one goal a game, for the first time in the Premier League since December 23rd.
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