The Newcastle United great has weighed in on his old club’s performance in the opening two months of the Premier League season.
Alan Shearer, a Newcastle United icon, has recognized that his former side faces a challenge to catch the Premier League’s current leaders, but he has praised the Magpies’ response to an unsatisfactory start to the season.
Eddie Howe’s team started the season well, with Alexander Isak scoring twice and youngster Sandro Tonali also scoring in a 5-1 home triumph over Aston Villa. However, that first-day victory was followed by three defeats as the Magpies came away empty-handed from trips to treble winners Manchester City and top-six rivals Brighton, as well as a disappointing home defeat against Liverpool.
The first international break of the season arrived just in time for Howe and his team, who have returned in excellent form after claiming ten points from a possible 12 after a 2-2 draw at West Ham United on Sunday prevented them from taking the maximum return from their past four league games.
The Magpies veteran responded warmly on Howe’s men’s response, writing in his BBC Sport column: “Newcastle also have some ground to make up on the leading pack, but overall I am pretty pleased with the start they have made.”
“I always thought it would be tough for them to get into the Champions League places again after finishing fourth last time, and they have had to deal with a difficult run of early games.”It was a blow to lose three games in a row to City, Liverpool, and Brighton, but it was the style of the Reds’ home defeat to the Reds that was the most painful – losing late and to ten men.
However, they have recovered well and achieved some excellent results in the Premier League despite the absence of key players such as Sven Botman, Joelinton, and Callum Wilson.”
United’s excellent return to league play has coincided with some memorable cup competition moments.
The Magpies won the Carabao Cup against Manchester City 1-0 thanks to an Alexander Isak goal, and they have four points from their first two Champions League games after a hard-earned goalless draw at AC Milan was followed by last week’s stunning 4-1 thrashing of Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.
Shearer feels that the return of Champions League football to Tyneside will ‘boost the entire club,’ but admits that they may have made an effect during a difficult first 45 minutes at the London Stadium on Sunday.
“On top of that, their performances in their two Champions League games have been phenomenal,” he continued. Yes, they were lucky in Milan, but there was nothing fortuitous about the manner they beat Paris St-Germain last week – it was a spectacular game, one of the best I have ever seen. Such nights lift the entire club and are exactly what they worked so hard for last year.
“It was always going to be difficult to follow that up against West Ham on Sunday, and they struggled to find their rhythm in the first half, which was understandable.” However, they responded positively and will believe they should have won. The only frustrating aspect of their entire week was West Ham’s late equalizer.”
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