Alan Shearer told Premier League Productions (15/08/21 at 3:55 pm) that Newcastle ‘couldn’t really cope’ with West Ham duo, Said Benrahma and Michail Antonio on Sunday.
Even though Newcastle were leading on two occasions, they were beaten 4-2 by West Ham at St James’ Park, with the above duo netting the crucial goals.
Both teams met on the opening day of last season, but Newcastle were the winners then, but now it was David Moyes who guided his team to three points.
Shearer was impressed with the ‘devastating’ manner in which West Ham played and how two of their players caused his former club all sorts of problems.
“To be fair to West Ham, I thought they had a 15 or 20-minute spell where I thought they were devastating,” said Shearer.
“Newcastle couldn’t really cope with them. But some of their forward play was excellent.
“Benrahma was really tough to play against. He scored one and he was a constant threat.
“Antonio, as we said before the game, full of running. Strong. And he was also a big threat. They couldn’t really handle those two.”
As West Ham fans will be well aware, they can’t take too much into an opening day fixture.
The Hammers were in meltdown this time last season, but after a slow start, when they eventually got their engine going, they were chasing Europe.
Newcastle might not reach those heights this season, but they can hope, especially after bringing Joe Willock to the club from Arsenal.
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