Newcastle United beat Burnley in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
Alan Shearer stated that the one ‘big change’ he has noticed in Newcastle is how ‘solid’ they have looked from a defensive standpoint following their 2-0 win against Burnley on Tuesday night.
As Shearer was praising Rafa Benitez’s defence on Match of the Day, they were showing a graphic of the small amounts of money the Magpies have spent on their backline; From buying Fabian Schar for £3m to Jamaal Lascelles for £3.5m
When the St James’ Park legend finished praising his former club, Lineker joked that they ‘spend so much money up there’ to the laughter of his colleague.
This is how it all unfolded on BBC One’s Match of the Day (27/02/2019 at 12:00 pm), which included Shearer’s praise and Lineker’s funny jibe.
“I thought the big difference of late is the defensive side of things with Newcastle, they have looked really, really solid,” Shearer told MOTD. “They have spent wisely,” Lineker responded.
“That’s been one of the big changes for me is how solid they have looked and against Barnes and Wood, who give defenders a horrible time, they handled them with ease last night,” Shearer added.
“Spend so much money up there,” Lineker joked.
There is no doubt that things have been looking more positive for Newcastle in these last few weeks, with January signing Miguel Almiron making a huge impact.
On top of their back-to-back league wins, Benitez has guided his team to consecutive clean sheets against Burnley and Huddersfield, respectively.
They have conceded two goals in February, one was against Tottenham with Heung-min Son netting a late winner following a mistake from Martin Dubvraka and the keeper was at fault once again the following week when his team conceded a stoppage-time equaliser at Wolves.
Nonetheless, the Magpies will be looking to continue their recent good form when they travel to London to take on West Ham at the weekend.
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