Huddersfield Town continued their fantastic start to the season as they stumped Newcastle United 1-0 and further exposed the cracks in the Magpies’ ranks.
Below are the Newcastle United players rated from this Sunday afternoon fixture.
Robert Elliot: 6
Made a couple of routine stops but could have done little to deny Aaron Mooy’s effort. Needs to work on his distribution skills.
Javier Manquillo: 6.5
Was troubled by Rajiv Van La Parra initially, but improved lately and kept on making forward runs in search of a goal.
Jamaal Lascelles: 5.5
Lost so many duels, was dispossessed a couple of times. Lacked composure throughout the game.
Ciaran Clark: 6.5
Worked hard, covered a lot of ground, blocked a few efforts, made some crucial tackles, clearances, and interceptions.
Chancel Mbemba: 6
Played in a makeshift left-back role. Did not offer much in attack but tried to be disciplined defensively.
Isaac Hayden: 5
Tried to use his physicality to hold possession in midfield but was dispossessed repeatedly and misplaced a number of passes. Was replaced by Diame in the second half.
Mikel Merino: 6.5
Impressed on his debut with his dribbling, intercepting and tackling skills. Delivered a few decent long balls.
Christian Atsu: 6
Atsu tried to explore the left-hand flank with his pace, power, and trickery. But the former Chelsea wingman was well contained by Tom Smith.
Ayoze Perez: 6
Tried to link up with Gayle up-front but failed to create anything spectacular. Was replaced by Jacob Murphy in the closing minutes.
Matt Ritchie: 5.5
Started the game brightly, tested the Huddersfield custodian Jonas Lossl but faded off gradually and struggled to create goal-bound threats as he lacked passing and crossing accuracy.
Dwight Gayle: 4.5
Made some purposeful runs in early minutes, but failed to create any impact and was replaced by Joselu early into the second half. Newcastle’s hitman is yet to find his form in front of the goal.
Substitutes
Joselu: 5
Came as a second half substitute in place of Gayle. Worked hard to combine with Perez, Ritchie, and Atsu. But the former Stoke City attacker failed to create anything spectacular to alter the scoreline.
Mohamed Diame: 5.5
Used his physicality to win possession in midfield and tried to create chances for his attacker with his impressive range of passing. But he lacked creativity up front and made no impact on the game.
Jacob Murphy: 5.5
Looked swift with his movements. Had a chance seconds after entering the pitch, but his effort was blocked by Chris Lowe.
