Miguel Almiron netted his first goal for Newcastle United over the weekend.
Sky Sports pundit Phil Thompson has praised Javier Manquillo for frustrating Wilfried Zaha during Newcastle United’s 1-0 win over Crystal Palace over the weekend.
Whilst Miguel Almiron was the man in the spotlight for netting his first goal for Newcastle, it was his fellow Newcastle teammate, Manquillo, who was being singled out for his defensive performance.
It was an impressive display from Manquillo because he stopped a player in Zaha, who is being touted at £80 million and could potentially be playing for the European big boys pretty soon, as reported by TalkSport.
Speaking to Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports (21/12/19 at 5:50 pm), Thompson praised Steve Bruce for the manner in which he set up against Palace.
“Bruce said he had to change the system,” Thompson told Sky Sports. “Lejeune has come back in for his first game. Lejeune, Fernandez and Schar playing as a three-man centre-back. You had Dummett on the wide left.
“But Manquillo, and this is good tactics, he put him right up against Zaha. He was again frustrated for most of the game. He did alright Zaha, but he negated it. Manquillo deserves a lot there. So does Steve Bruce for doing that.”
Things are looking on the up for Newcastle and if they continue producing these strong performances, especially at home then a top 10 finish come May will be on the cards.
Whilst there is still a long way to go for that to happen, it is a far cry from the criticism Bruce was receiving when he first walked through the doors of St James’ Park in the summer.
His defensive players are looking as solid as ever and someone like Almiron stepped up at the weekend despite the absence of the energetic and unpredictable, Allan Saint-Maximin.
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