Newcastle United beat Burnley 2-1 at Turf Moor on Monday night.
Newcastle United boss Rafael Benitez has admitted to The Chronicle that not scoring a third goal against Burnley on Monday was ‘a pity’.
The Magpies went into Monday’s trip to Turf Moor off the back of two wins having beaten Watford and Bournemouth at St James’ Park, and were looking for a first away win of the campaign.
That’s exactly what they got as they made a dream start in East Lancashire, with Federico Fernandez’s shot was deflected into the net via Burnley defender Ben Mee.
Ciaran Clark then headed home Matt Ritchie’s cross to make it 2-0 inside 25 minutes, putting Newcastle on the brink of a third win in a row.
However, Sam Vokes then headed Ben Mee’s long ball into the net, bringing Burnley back into the game, but Newcastle managed to see out the game and claim a 2-1 win.
In fact, it could have been even more convincing; Ritchie somehow missed an open goal from about a yard out, and there were plenty of other instances of Newcastle failing to kill the game off.
Now, Benitez has admitted to The Chronicle that not grabbing a third goal was the biggest disappointment, calling it ‘a pity’, but was generally pleased with how his team performed at Turf Moor.
“It was a difficult game and we knew it could be tough,” said Benitez. “They are a strong team and very physical with the two strikers and a winger with pace who makes crosses in front of the full-back. We knew it could be difficult. The three centre-backs did a great job.”
“The team pressed and started the game well. It was a pity for us not to score the third goal. But in the end to get three points against a tough team is something we can be really pleased with,” he added.
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