OPINION
Newcastle United produced a disappointing performance as they were beaten comfortably 2-0 by West Ham United at the London Stadium on Saturday.
Midfielders Declan Rice and Mark Noble scored the goals as the Hammers got their work done in the first half, with Rafael Benitez’s team failing to ever really get going.
The Spaniard will have been frustrated with the anaemic display mustered up by his side, with this appearing to be a game too far for the Magpies. The showings of the trio listed below will have particularly disappointed the former Liverpool boss.
As usual there is plenty to be gleaned from the game, and This is Futbol has rounded up three things that can be learned from Newcastle’s disappointing defeat at West Ham.
Schar comes crashing back down to earth
Centre back Fabian Schar has been one of the star’s of Newcastle’s recent return to top form, but the Switzerland international produced one of his worst displays of the season on Saturday.
Like many of his team mates the former Deportivo man looked off the pace from the get go. He was given the slip by Rice for the Hammers’ first goal and generally failed to deal with much of what the hosts threw at him. It was no surprise to see him hooked just after the hour mark.
The summer recruit is a top class defender, there’s no doubt about that, but this was a wake up call for him. He can’t score belters every week, but he must be aware defensively at all times. That wasn’t the case on Saturday.
Perez returns to being Perez
In recent weeks, ever since the signing of Miguel Almiron really, Newcastle attacker Ayoze Perez has looked like a man reborn. The lifeless performances of earlier this season had disappeared and he was looking like a real danger to opposition defences.
However, Saturday proved that his resurrection isn’t quite complete just yet. He appeared to return to his typically anonymous self against West Ham and regularly seemed unsure of how to try and affect the game.
He is a talented player, which is why it’s so frustrating when he fails to turn up likes this. Benitez will have been hugely disappointed with him after a series of encouraging displays recently.
Longstaff falters as Rice rises to occasion
Much of the pre-match conversation was about which young English midfielder was the better talent: Rice or Sean Longstaff. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, as they will both likely be fixtures of the Three Lions set up in the years to come, but the Newcastle man certainly came off worse on Saturday.
While Rice directly influenced the game with a goal and an excellent overall performance, Longstaff looked a shadow of himself in what was undoubtedly his worst showing since coming into the Magpies line up.
He tried hard but the 21-year-old was never really able to get into the game. He was eventually substituted at half time, although that was due to an injury. Still, a below-par night for the youngster.