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A Heung-Min Son goal saw Newcastle United fall to a late 1-0 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
Spurs deserved the victory given the balance of play, but the Magpies will rue some missed chances and Martin Dubravka’s goalkeeping error that allowed Son’s strike to find the back of the net.
Rafa Benitez will feel as though his side deserved a draw as a reward for their dogged, determined performance, but he must find a way of making his side more of a threat to the opposition defence.
On the chalkboard
It was far from a surprise to see the Magpies set up in a reserved, defensive system. Benitez’s side sat deep and looked to soak up pressure, as most would have anticipated.
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However, they need to find a way of maintaining some opposition territory for a sustained period, to allow some of the pressure building up on their own back line to dissipate.
They currently lack attacking players with enough technical and physical quality to retain possession in the final third for a prolonged spell. As such, the ball returns to their own defensive third all too quickly, and eventually, as it did on Saturday, that pressure takes its toll.
Almiron must be the man
Salomon Rondon is an effective target man, but he was left far too isolated against Spurs. The likes of Christian Atsu and Ayoze Perez worked hard on the flanks, and offer pacy outlets, but they couldn’t produce any end product or hold onto the ball long enough for Newcastle to gain an attacking foothold.
Magpies fans will be hoping that January signing Miguel Almiron can be that attacking player, capable of dragging the team forward. Saturday’s demoralising result demonstrated how much they need the 24-year-old to be that man. The pressure is now on Almiron to perform.
