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Newcastle United 3 Cardiff City 0 | Talking Points

Newcastle managed to secure an emphatic three-goal victory in a crucial game and leapfrog Cardiff City in the process to leave the visitors in the relegation zone.

Fabian Schar found the back of the net on two occasions, as the defender recorded his first goals for the Magpies in the form of a brace. The first came via a driving run down the left flank under hardly any defensive pressure, allowing the Swiss international to cut inside and slot past Neil Etheridge.

39 minutes later Schar found himself unmarked at the back post and in an opportune position to tap in Jamaal Lascelles flicked header from a corner.

In the third minute of stoppage time, Ayoze Perez beat his maker to finish from close range and seal an important win for the hosts.

Both sides create through the counter-attack but to contrasting effect

Throughout the encounter at St James’ Park, both sides transitioned play quickly and vertically after regaining possession but with contrasting success. Cardiff frequently bypassed their midfield with long passes played by either the goalkeeper or defence up to Nathaniel Mendez-Laing or Oumar Niasse.

Unfortunately, on this occasion, the strategy didn’t pay off, and Neil Warnock’s side gave away possession far too cheaply. Newcastle were also guilty of gifting the ball back to the visitors immediately on occasions and any early opportunities created by Cardiff tended to appear through this type of scenario.

However, the hosts predominantly faired well in dealing with Cardiff’s abrasive approach and used a similar method but with the ball thrust forwards rapidly while on the ground. This proved to be significantly more effective at creating chances, and Benitez’s side were able to convert two low crosses.

Initially, Salomon Rondon was used as an ariel threat, although Bruno Ecuele Manga and Sol Bamba proved adept at stopping any lofted balls into Newcastle’s top scorer this season. The Magpies intelligently switched to firing balls low across the face of goal, which troubled the opposing centre backs significantly more.



How does this affect the bottom of the table?

Warnock will be incredibly disappointed with his side after a series of impressive performances as their level was noticeably lower on Saturday, which came at a great cost.

The Bluebirds fall into the relegation zone on just 19 points from their 23 games. While Newcastle are just a single place and two points above, they hold a vastly superior goal difference of -12 as opposed to -25. Both sides are tied on 19 goals scored – the joint second lowest in the division – though Newcastle have conceded 13 fewer.

Despite lack of options Benitez may finally have found the right combination to fit his system

Benitez is currently short of options in midfield missing Jonjo Shelvey, Ki Sung-Yueng and Mohammed Diame. Despite this, Issac Hayden and Sean Longstaff deputised with maturity. Neither offered much of an attacking presence, but together they screened the central defensive trio brilliantly, allowing the wing backs freedom to burst forward.

It showed as this was the first occasion in the last eight games Newcastle managed to score more than a single goal. The system was initially employed to sit deep and counteract top six sides; however its more attacking adaptation proved incredibly effective.

Meanwhile, further up the field both Ayoze Perez and Christian Atsu terrorised as inside forwards, able to drift wide or stay central, meaning Cardiff struggled to track their movement. As well as this Rondon worked tirelessly and fittingly claimed the final assist that his selfless performance warranted.

Will Niasse reproduce his best at Cardiff?

Oumar Niasse was unveiled by Cardiff City as a loan signing on Friday from Everton, and the striker will be hoping to have an impact equal to that of when he first worked under Marco Silva at Hull City. While at the KC Stadium he improved the Tiger’s situation but was unable to prevent their relegation, though while at Everton this season he has failed to make an impression and has now notched more minutes for Cardiff than he did for the Toffees in the first half of the campaign.



Against Newcastle, the Senegalese striker appeared to lack sharpness, and it may have surprised some he was immediately thrust into proceedings after little recent action. Niasse found it difficult to create space dealing with three opposing central defenders and may not be match fit yet.

When Niasse was substituted for Bobby Ried, his replacement did improve Cardiff’s attacking options through a more significant influence in build-up play bringing others into the game further forward. Not only this but making intelligent attacking runs, though all efforts were ultimately stifled by an impressive defensive performance.

Man of the Match: Fabian Schar

An unlikely hero but Schar was both phenomenal and fortuitous against Cardiff. A pair of goals which capitalised on slack defending was coupled with a commanding defensive performance, typified by a last man block to keep the score at 2-0.

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