Newcastle United ran out 6-0 winners on Tuesday night.
Newcastle United maintained their rip-roaring form with a 6-0 thrashing of QPR at Loftus Road on Tuesday night.
Five different goalscorers contributed to the rout of Rangers – Jonjo Shelvey scoring twice – as Newcastle made it five wins on the spin in the Championship.
One man who might not get quite so many headlines as the likes of Shelvey or Aleksandar Mitrovic is Isaac Hayden, the summer signing from Arsenal who continues to prove himself a very, very good acquisition by Rafael Benitez.
The defensive midfielder looked superb again for the Magpies, managing eight ball recoveries and winning six of his duels as the 21-year-old shielded his back four in excellent fashion, thwarting QPR’s attacks in the process.
| Position | Team | Interception | Ball Recovery | Duel Won | Total Tackle | Won Tackle | Fwd Pass | Total Pass | Dispossessed | Appearances | Mins Played | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Isaac Hayden | MF | Newcastle | 2 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 68 | 0 | 1 | 90 |
Hayden also won all three of his attempted tackles, clocking an accuracy of 100%. It is no surprise that he is yet to be booked in any of his seven Championship games, which perhaps illustrates an intelligence to only commit to tackles which he can win.
With zero dispossessions, the former Gunner was also economic on the ball, using it intelligently – but was he too cautious? Only 16 of his 68 passes went forward, meaning that 52 were either sideways or backwards.
Of course, Newcastle’s attacking prowess was not blunted by this caution on the night, but maybe a tad more adventure is needed in the future.
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