[ad_1]
That 1-0 win against Manchester United last weekend seems like a long time ago now for Newcastle United supporters. In what was a dismal week for the Magpies, the Toon suffered back-to-back losses in the Premier League and are slowly losing footing in the race for the top four.
They say clubs are always three games from a crisis and Newcastle have epitomised that over the past week. Failure to beat AC Milan on Wednesday and qualify for the Champions League could mount serious pressure on head coach Eddie Howe.
Newcastle were comfortably battered in the injury-crisis derby against Tottenham Hotspur but there were several key underperformers during the match, including one star who was arguably the worst player on the pitch.
Alexander Isak’s game in numbers
On the balance of play, Spurs deserved to come away with all three points. The hosts had 57% of the ball and peppered 23 shots at Martin Dubravka’s goal, creating seven big chances in the process.
Additionally, Spurs’ 23 opportunities at goal led to an expected goals total of 3.88 during the match, according to FotMob. In contrast, the Geordie outfit boasted an xG of 1.69 from nine opportunities but converted just one.
Alexander Isak was starving throughout the match and was left isolated for lengthy periods before Howe decided to bring Callum Wilson back into the fray after the hour mark. The latter managed to grab an assist for Joelinton’s late consolation goal.
The Sweden international had a glorious opportunity nine minutes into the game to open the scoring for the visitors. This chance registered an xG of 0.77 alone which was 46% of Newcastle’s total xG for the game. Incidentally, this was Isak’s first and only opportunity of the match, having had merely one touch in the opposition’s box and failing to win a single aerial duel from three attempts.
Nevertheless, Isak wasn’t the only player on the pitch in a black and white shirt that should hang their heads in shame.
Jamaal Lascelles’ game in numbers
Newcastle United’s right side was exposed time and time again. Kieran Trippier put in a nightmare shift on Thursday away at Goodison Park against Everton but this time, it was the centre-back on his side that will want to forget this result as quickly as possible.
Related
Newcastle in talks to sign £13m Lascelles downgrade in January
Newcastle United are hoping to sign this £13 million titan who is performing worse than Jamaal Lascelles this season.
Having limped off late in the game against Everton in midweek, Howe decided that skipper Jamaal Lascelles was fit enough to partner Fabian Schar once more at the heart of the defence. The duo have now conceded seven goals in the last two matches.
Lascelles, in particular, struggled to defend his own penalty area at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend, losing 100% of his aerial duels, 50% of his tackles and 33% of his ground duels, as per FotMob.
Furthermore, the ex-Nottingham Forest defender lost possession of the ball six times throughout the match and was the lowest-rated player across all 22 that started the game, earning a Sofascore match rating of merely 6.2. Sofascore seemed to be generous, though, as The Shields Gazette docked Lascelles’ display down as a woeful 3/10 after he was caught ball-watching for all of Tottenham’s first three goals.
For a player with the experience that Lascelles has, Howe will have wanted a much finer showing than the one the captain put on. The Newcastle boss has a lot of thinking to do ahead of Wednesday’s bout at home to Milan, with Paul Dummett champing at the bit for his first-ever European start.
[ad_2]
Source link