OPINION
Nottingham Forest recorded a 3-1 win over Newcastle United at the Forest Ground on Wednesday in the League Cup and Rafa Benitez would have learned from his side’s performance.
The Spanish manager would have been disappointed with how his club’s 2018/19 campaign was going so far and it looks like it hit a new low after they were eliminated from the EFL Cup by a Championship side.
However the Magpies boss must brush his side down and patch them up in order to make them be ready to take on Manchester City on Saturday and hopefully this latest display will help him in that task.
This is Futbol have picked out three things learned about Newcastle after their loss to Nottingham Forest:
Sterry Must Be Kept
The Chronicle previously reported that Sterry could be loaned out ahead of the window closing and that idea should be instantly squashed. The 22-year-old right-back made the most of his chance against Forest considering his side conceded three goals and looked a reliable presence at the back. With Benitez lacking options when it comes to his full-backs then Sterry surely will get enough playing time if he doesn’t depart St James Park on a temporary basis. The 22-year-old didn’t do enough to instantly dethrone first-choice option DeAndre Yedlin but he showed signs that he could at least make the 25-year-old look over his shoulder when it comes to worrying about his starting position.
Clark must not be used as a left-back
The 28-year-old has many positive attributes but the ability to play at left-back is not one of them. Clark could easily have taken some of the blame for Forest scoring an early goal as Sam Byram made easy work when it came to going past him before whipping in a pinpoint cross. However it wasn’t just his ability to be bamboozled that saw him struggle as he failed to deliver the goods when in an advance position as well. Based on his display from Wednesday night no one is ever going to describe the experienced defender as a good crosser of the ball as his delivery was woeful throughout the game. This glaring weakness in Clark’s game was painfully exposed and saw him let his side down.
Newcastle had no answer for Lolley
Benitez must be breathing a sigh of relief over the fact his Magpies’ defence don’t have to face the 26-year-old winger every week. Lolley appeared to run a muck during the first half for his side as he made easy work of tearing past the Magpies’ defence and would have only been left disappointed by the fact he didn’t end up with a goal to show for his performance. It’s worrying to think that if Lolley can make light work of the Magpies’ defence, which was the least changed area of the side that played Chelsea, what Manchester City’s attack will be able to do when they play Benitez’s side on Saturday. The Magpies normally pride themselves on their sturdiness at the back but it seems Lolley had the key to unlocking their back four and wasn’t afraid to use it. Who knows what the scoreline would have been if the winger hadn’t left the pitch early due to injury.