The Magpies boss referred to his side’s defensive exploits so far this season.
Newcastle United have had their fair share of issues this season but things seem on the up now after an upturn in form.
The Magpies have won their last two Premier League games, with both Huddersfield and Burnley shut out by their rearguard, while their performances against Wolves and Spurs would have yielded better results but for late opposition goals.
Before those two matches, Manchester City were beaten, testament to how Newcastle can beat the very best on the day, and speaking after the win over the Clarets, Rafael Benitez acknowledged a statistic which bodes very well for his side.
Only four teams in the Premier League – Liverpool, Man City, Tottenham and Chelsea – have conceded fewer goals than the Magpies, with the quartet all in the top six of the table.
Admittedly, Newcastle have struggled to score in the earlier part of the season, but with the likes of Miguel Almiron having bolstered the team’s attacking ranks, the improvement in results is already showing.
After speaking about overcoming low confidence from earlier in the campaign, Benitez told the Northern Echo: “Now you can see the team is strong, the team has balance and that gives us the confidence to approach any game thinking we can score goals and it will be difficult for the opposition to score against us.
“Our position in the table in terms of goals conceded, I think we are fifth. For a team that is at the bottom half, I think that is massive in terms of how solid we are. We needed to score more goals, now we have more chances because the team is solid and we have different kinds of players too.”
Up next for Newcastle, who sit 13th in the table with 31 points from 28 games, is a Premier League trip to West Ham United on Saturday.
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