Inter Milan midfielder Valentino Lazaro has shown a wealth of naivety by claiming he had a ‘good’ game before being sent off as Newcastle United lost at Crystal Palace last month.
Head coach Steve Bruce had the trusted the January loan signing to open the action at Selhurst Park, but would see the 23-year-old be given the run-around by Wilfried Zaha throughout his time on the field.
Lazaro’s afternoon then went from bad to worse in the 90th-minute when referee Peter Bankes reached into his back pocket, and brandished a straight red card for hauling Zaha to the ground as the Ivorian looked to break through on goal.
Yet almost a month later, and having sat out the goalless draw with Burnley through suspension, Lazaro still considers his efforts in South London to have been a success in most.
“When I came here, I felt the support not just from the fans [but] from my teammates and from the coaches as well,” Lazaro told the NUFC matchday programme. “And I actually think I had a pretty good start here in training with my team, but then, of course, the first games came and we didn’t win. Then I had the red card.
“I think I had a pretty good game, as well, until the red card. Then to not be able to play the next week at home was a bit tough, and now I’m more than happy to be back.”
How would you rate Lazaro's display at Palace?
Horror show
Pretty good
Bruce awarded Lazaro an 18-minute cameo against Southampton in his return from suspension, but it remains to be seen if the boss still considers the 23-year-old to be a starting member of his plans with the Premier League on hold due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Lazaro will need to do a lot more than talk a big game to warrant walking back into the starting line-up when the season eventually recommences, as we still have to face high-flying Sheffield United plus Manchester City, Tottenham and Liverpool.
Those teams will have players that can cause problems if they sense a weakness, and another horror show from Lazaro like his at Crystal Palace would surely leave Bruce fuming on the touchline.
Before his sending off, Lazaro lost four of his six ground duels, made no attempted aerial duels, lost possession 16 times, made no clearances or interceptions, completed one tackle, misplaced five of six crosses and could only beat opposing players with one of three dribbles, per Sofa Score data.
Where in those numbers Lazaro feels he had a ‘pretty good game’ is anyone’s guess.
In other Newcastle United news, a three-time league winner turned down the club last year during our search of a key replacement.