Sky Sports pundit Phil Thompson has heaped praise on Javier Manquillo after he managed to keep Wilfried Zaha at bay on the weekend.
Before this match, 17 games were played by either side and Crystal Palace had scored just 14 goals and Newcastle also scored 17, so it was never going to be a goal-fest.
However, if Crystal Palace were to score, you know there is a good chance that the opportunity or goal would come through their main outlet in Wilfried Zaha.
With injuries aplenty for either side, changes were required to be made. Rather than the usual 5-4-1 for Steve Bruce, he opted to play a 3-5-2, where he could fit both Andy Carroll and Joelinton into the squad.
Thankfully for those on Tyneside, it worked very well with Almiron playing more centrally and Dummett and Manquillo playing in both wing-back positions.
Former Liverpool defender Phil Thompson certainly agreed, as he revealed after the match on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday.
He said: “Bruce said he had to change the system,”
“Lejeune has come back in for his first game. Lejeune, Fernandez and Schar playing as a three-man centre-back. You had Dummett on the wide left.
“But Manquillo, and this is good tactics, he put him right up against Zaha. He was again frustrated for most of the game. He did alright Zaha, but he negated it. Manquillo deserves a lot there. So does Steve Bruce for doing that.”
What should we do with Manquillo?
Sell him in January
Give him a new contract
Offer 12-month extension
Release him in summer
It’s hard to disagree with the pundit. Despite WhoScored’s algorithm only giving him a respectable 7.03/10 – the seventh highest rating in the Newcastle team, his defensive duties against the Ivorian international was there for everyone to see.
No one on the pitch had more tackles than the Spaniard (six), which is obviously an extremely impressive feat when you’re coming up against one of the most lethal dribblers in the league. Additionally, he made one interception, one clearance and had 41 touches, but it was ultimately his ability to not let Crystal Palace’s star man past him into many deadly positions which was the standout thing about the player.
With that win, Newcastle have pushed themselves back into the top half of the table with nearly half of the season gone. They have 25 points from 18 games, meaning that they are just seven shy of the Champions League places and three points short of fifth, pretty good going considering the obvious problems before the start of the campaign.