Newcastle United returned to winning ways for the first time in six Premier League matches with a 1-0 win over Southampton on Saturday. The Magpies also broke their duck of having failed to score in their last four top-flight games courtesy of an Allan Saint-Maximin strike. But in the engine room, Newcastle’s Jonjo Shelvey flourished as part of Steve Bruce’s new system and looked back to his creative best, re-energised after signing a new three-year deal on Friday.
No player had more touches of the ball than the six cap England international’s 101, with his inclusion leading to Newcastle United dominating possession, retaining 62 per cent, a rare occurrence considering they have the lowest average possession in the Premier League, 40.8 per cent, as per WhoScored. Shelvey dictated the Magpies’ play and put them on the front foot, consistently looking to carve out openings.
Furthermore, the Englishman had the most passes, 84, with an 85.7 per cent accuracy, of anyone on the St Mary’s turf, along with completing 11 of 16 long balls, as per WhoScored. Using his incredible vision and passing range the playmaker fired in vertical passes over the opposition backline to play Saint-Maximin and Miguel Almiron in behind the Southampton defence.
Newcastle were fortunate to have an extra man after Moussa Djenepo was dismissed, but Shelvey took full advantage to play a game-high three key passes, along with six crosses, two of which were accurate, as per WhoScored. However, without Joelinton’s aerial prowess for much of the match Bruce’s side were unable to convert any of the midfielder’s openings.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Shelvey’s performance is that he completed the second-highest number of tackles, three, of any Newcastle player, along with an interception, a clearance and a blocked shot, as per WhoScored. The England international has been labelled lazy in the past, but there could be no such criticism of his performance against the Saints as he bossed all areas of the midfield.
It appears that a switch of formation and a new contract spurred Shelvey, valued at £16.2m (Transfermarkt), back to his best at the weekend. Despite having not found the back of the net since the two teams last met in December, the 28-year-old is still Newcastle’s top scorer on five and having him firing again is a significant boost for Bruce.
