Newcastle United picked up a deserved point against Manchester City on Saturday.
Phil Neville has lauded Newcastle United trio Federico Fernandez, Ciaran Clark and Paul Dummett as ‘absolutely fantastic’ after Newcastle secured a 2-2 draw against Manchester City on Saturday.
The BBC Sport pundit labelled Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka as ‘world-class’ for his display yesterday, including one moment when he denied Raheem Sterling from close-range.
Man City took the lead on both occasions, including a spectacular strike from Kevin de Bruyne eight minutes from time, but Jonjo Shelvey sealed the point for his team minutes from the end.
Speaking to Match of the Day on BBC One (30/11/2019 10:20 pm start), Neville was full of praise for Newcastle’s defence, including the man donning the gloves.
“They were gritty, they were resilient,” Neville told Match of the Day. “The number of times they got blocks in front of Man City’s shots and passes in the final third.
“Look at the number of touches Newcastle players had in their own defending box, 105 touches when normally they have an average of 66. It showed resilience and character.
“We have a go at defenders for being loose and making mistakes, but the three at the back were absolutely fantastic. Fernandez, Clark and Dummett. Every time it came into the box, they would throw themselves [at the ball].
“They were protected brilliantly by Shelvey and Hayden in front of them. Fernandez was the pick of the bunch – and when they did get through, Steve Bruce said, you need your keeper to have a world-class performance – and the one time that they lost their shape, that is world-class [shot from Sterling after a pass to the far post] that is world-class from Dubravka. He was fantastic.”
Whilst there was criticism when Bruce first walked through the doors at St James’ Park, he is producing some quality results for the team.
They beat Tottenham away from home earlier on in the season, and also secured a memorable three points against Manchester United.
They can now add a deserved point against Man City to that list, as a trip to Sheffield United awaits them next Thursday.
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