Newcastle United beat Rotherham United 1-0 in their latest Championship match.
Rafael Benitez has told the Chronicle that he was pleased with the impact the changes he made during Newcastle United’s match against Rotherham United had on the match.
Benitez adapted Newcastle’s formation during the game, with the North East side swapping to a 4-2-3-1 system mid way through the first half.
And Benitez felt that his tactical change helped Newcastle massively during the contest, which they won 1-0, as it allowed his side to get hold of possession.
“We said before that we could play 4-3-3, but we were losing a lot of balls and Izzy Brown was controlling a lot,” Benitez said.
“So we put two bodies in [defensive midfield] and it was easier to manage this space.
“I had to change because we weren’t controlling things in the middle.
“We had no control of second balls.
“We then dominated possession much better and by the end we had to play with five at the back.
“We needed to be a little bit stronger in the air.”
Newcastle were expected to win comfortably against Rotherham, but they were given a thorough examination.
The Millers are currently bottom of the Championship, however they competed well against Benitez’s in-form side.
In the end a wonderful goal from Christian Atsu was the difference between the two teams, and it meant that Newcastle kept the pressure on the automatic promotion contenders.
The Magpies are currently in third place in the Championship table, and they have won seven of their last nine league matches.
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