Newcastle United drew 2-2 with Southampton at St. Mary’s yesterday.
Some Newcastle United fans have disagreed with Rafael Benitez’s decision to drop Ciaran Clark and replace him with Florian Lejeune.
Lejeune returned to Newcastle’s starting line-up for their match against Southampton, and the Spanish centre-back generally impressed.
However, the former Eibar man was guilty of giving away a penalty, and that mistake turned out to be crucial.
Newcastle were leading 2-1 at the point when Lejeune fouled Shane Long in the box, and Manolo Gabbiadini converted the resulting spot kick.
The Magpies went on to draw the match, and some Newcastle fans have suggested that they would have had a better chance of claiming the three points if Clark had started.
Clark and Jamaal Lascelles have formed a fairly solid partnership at St. James’ Park, but Lejeune is very highly regarded by Benitez.
Lejeune was one of the stars of Newcastle’s pre-season, before picking up an injury in Benitez’s side’s first match against Tottenham Hotspur, which has halted his progress.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
