Pride restored by impressive United – and some goalden moments too
NEWCASTLE United earned a decent draw with Manchester City at St James’ Park as they hit back after Monday’s disappointment at Villa Park.
The Magpies faced last season’s treble winners with a point to prove and they did just that, hitting back twice to gain a decent draw.
Jetro Willems scored the first before a Kevin De Bruyne super strike looked to have won it for the Citizens. Jonjo Shelvey’s wonderful finish earned Newcastle a point which tees them up for a big week.
JONJO SHELVEY PROVES A POINT
Jonjo Shelvey’s stunning equaliser rightly won some headlines but he was still not 100% happy after the game.
Shelvey was awful at Aston Villa during the 2-0 defeat on Monday night and let the game pass him by.
The midfielder had set the tone in the pre-match programme by making his view on his critics clear.
He said: “The season before everyone in the whole country was saying: ‘You should be going to the World Cup.’
“Now you are being labelled a bad footballer.
“That does not change overnight do you know what I mean?”
Actually as far as this publication is concerned the main criticism is the fact Shelvey lacks consistency.
However, he went on:
“My friends send me stuff of people who have been hammering you, then you have a good game and they are literally buzzing off you.
“People hide behind keyboards and things like that and it is what it is.
“That is never going to stop in football. You just need to ignore it.”
Shelvey was asked by the local written press for an interview but would only take part in mandatory interviews with rights holders.
Although, if a sense of injustice is driving him to better performances then long may it continue.
Shelvey picked up a nine out of ten for his performance at West Ham, an eight out of ten against Bournemouth and then down to a fur out of ten against Villa.
Was the City game his best afternoon?
His goal was a fine strike but he emerged with a seven out of ten in my book.
The stand-in skipper heads to Sheffield United on a high and with the challenge of consistency back at his feet.
TOON’S STRENGTH IN DEPTH IS THERE FOR ALL TO SEE
The 2-2 draw with City was a fantastic effort from the 13 players used at St James’ Park.
United managed to hold the champions without Fabian Schär, the Longstaff brothers, Yoshinori Muto, Ki, and Florian Lejeune.
Throw in the fact Andy Carroll, Jamaal Lascelles, DeAndre Yedlin and Matt Ritchie are injured and it is a decent state of affairs for Steve Bruce.
GUARDIOLA SHOWS HIS CLASS AGAIN
The Barcelona legend was asked if his side had “underestimated” Newcastle after the game but the truth is he was full of respect before, during and after the clash at St James’ Park.
Guardiola branded the trip to the North-East as a tough test beforehand and afterwards he paid tribute to Newcastle’s tactics.
He said: “Congratulations to them.
“We played at a good level.
“It was not easy because they defended deep.
“We found a way to get through but unfortunately at the end we conceded a goal.
“There are teams that defend deeper like this, it happens all season.”
FAIR’S FAIR – OR IS IT?
Newcastle United head into December in better shape than they were at this point last year.
The corresponding weekend last term resulted in a 3-0 home defeat against West Ham and we were talking about worst home form since the 1953-54 season.
Not only are the Magpies four points better off than this time last season but they have lost just one from seven home matches – as opposed to losing six from the first eight last term.
United also have one more point than they did after 14 games in the 2017/18 season when they finished 10th.
He may not get it from some observers, but Steve Bruce deserves a bit of credit where it is due.
After all, critics were quick to hammer him after Norwich and Arsenal earlier in the season.