Dwight Gayle praises Newcastle teammate’s contribution during win over Leeds

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Newcastle extended their lead at the top of the Championship to five points with a win at Elland Road.

Newcastle United’s Ayoze Perez in action with Leeds United’s Kemar Roofe and Kalvin Phillips

Newcastle United striker Dwight Gayle heaped praise upon Ayoze Perez after the forward helped the Magpies extend their lead at the top of the Championship table by beating Leeds United 2-0 on Sunday, the club’s official website reports.

The game at Elland Road pitted two of the division’s form teams against one another, but Newcastle proved exactly why they are at the top of the table as they took their chances to claim an important victory.

But despite Perez not getting on the scoresheet or contributing an assist during the game, Gayle – who did bag both goals – stressed just how important the Spaniard was to the team’s success.

“The last few months, we’ve been coming out really fast, and silencing the [opposing] fans as such. I thought we did that again today, which is credit to the quality in the team,” he told the club’s official website.

Newcastle United’s Dwight Gayle

“There was a bit of luck involved in my first goal, but you always have to follow in and hope for the best. Luckily it dropped for me, and it helped us to push on from there.

“With Ayoze in the hole, there are always going to be good bits of play. He is a fantastic player and he worked well today. Luckily when the ball was played across I was there to get the goal for the team.”

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez

Though the 23-year-old did not score of bag an assist against Garry Monk’s men, he has shown this season that he is one of the most creative players within Rafael Benitez’s squad.

He has scored three times in the Championship and set up two goals for his teammates. And it is arguably statistics like that that prove exactly why Newcastle are now five points clear at the top of the table.

Though Gayle has been taking many of the plaudits for his brilliant form, the likes of Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic have also proved just how much depth the Magpies boast going forward. And, with nine straight wins under their belt, it is surely fair to say that they have a similar amount of depth in almost every position within their squad.