Saint-Maximin inspires Newcastle to see off 10-man Sheffield United
Allan Saint-Maximin ruined his back garden by staging dribbling contests against his dog during lockdown and now Chris Wilder can only hope the French winger has not also destroyed Sheffield United’s European ambitions.
If Saint-Maximin’s landlord harbours cause to rue the state of that lawn, Steve Bruce must thank his team’s one real maverick for dragging Newcastle to within touching distance of Premier League safety.
Admittedly their rise to the 38point mark was also partly facilitated by John Egan’s contentious 50th-minute sending-off but further goals from the excellent Matt Ritchie and, at long last, Joelinton sealed a highly professional performance big on efficiency and understated polish.
It would presumably have been well received in Riyadh and Jeddah, where the key players behind Newcastle’s seemingly stalled, highly controversial, £300m Saudi Arabian-led takeover are
hoping to soon be handed the keys to St James’ Park.
Before kick-off Bruce said he “couldn’t deny” the takeover limbo had been a “distraction” and the, ultimately deceptive early evidence suggested that Sheffield United – already under Saudi ownership – were sharper and more switched-on.
If that served to magnify Bruce’s fears that his team might be a little “under-cooked” it perhaps also reflected the home players apparent sense of initial disbelief at being surrounded by steepled stands filled with tens of thousands of empty seats.
Without the customary 52,000 fans to raise adrenaline levels, the atmosphere was flat but after the visitors failed to make the most of some promising set pieces, Saint-Maximin’s unique blend of improvisation and acceleration began to rufffle Wilder’s side.
The Blades’ backline soon looked to be suffering from a human version not so much of the canine fatigue presumably suffered by the former Nice winger’s pet, as utter bewilderment. With the tempo increasing, this newfound hesitancy saw Ritchie test Dean Henderson’s goalkeeping reflexes and