The Daily Telegraph - 19.08.2019

Direction

of play

Successful

Unsuccessful

Key pass

Pukki’s passes v Newcastle

Bruce blasts lacklustre Newcastle

By Arindam Rej at Carrow Road

Steve Bruce admitted he could not

forgive the performances of his

Newcastle players in their 3-1 defeat

at Norwich. The manager had de-

fended his team’s attitude in his

press conference immediately after

the match, but subsequently took a

harder line.

Newcastle gave too much time

and space to Norwich – a low-

spending, newly promoted side – in

a display that lacked intensity.

Bruce said: “At times like this, you

need an inquest. I can’t go on to the

pitch with them. The one thing in

management that I have always tried

to instil into my team is that we can

make mistakes but I can’t forgive a

performance where basically you

don’t put your boots on. Unfortu-

nately, it has happened already in

the second game in. But I’ll do all I

can to make sure that changes.”

The Newcastle manager is hop-

ing French winger Allan Saint-Max-

imin, a £16.5 million summer

signing from Nice, will be available

for their next game, at Tottenham

on Sunday.

He will also have an anxious wait

to see the damage done to £40 mil-

lion striker Joelinton, who missed a

sitter against Norwich then came

off with a hip injury.

Discussing Joelinton, Bruce said:

“It always takes time for anybody to

come to the Premier League. Of

course, with the price tag, you be-

come talked about very quickly.

“With anybody who comes to the

Premier League, in my experience,

the first thing that hits you is the in-

tensity to it. We’ve got to let them

all bed in, find their feet, but obvi-

ously you want them to hit the

ground running quickly.

“He had a big opportunity. If he

had taken that opportunity,

it might have been a different ball

game.”

Joelinton was not helped by the

service from his team-mates, who

are adapting to a new-look, wing-

backs system.

Right wing-back Emil Krafth, the

Sweden defender, is another sum-

mer signing who was poor at Car-

row Road.

Left wing-back Matt Ritchie said:

“Everyone has to be patient. We

have new players in and there’s

been a slight adjustment to the

system.”

Salomon Rondon often led the

line for Newcastle industriously

last season on a loan spell, before

following Rafael Benitez to Chinese

club Dalian Yifang.

Ritchie said: “Look, Rafa has

gone. That’s over. It’s a new era

now. We have to look forward not

backwards. There’s a new manager

come in, someone the players be-

lieve in and the club believes in.

That’s important.

“We fell short. We will look at it,

dissect it and make sure it doesn’t

happen again.

“The group is very similar to

what we had last season. I still be-

lieve the new additions can

strengthen us.

“It may take a little bit of time but

it is a long season.”

Manager ‘cannot forgive’

3-1 defeat at Norwich

We will make sure there

is no repeat, says Ritchie

FINISHING

No player has made more of a

goalscoring impact in his first two

Premier League appearances than

Teemu Pukki. With four goals, the

Finn, a free transfer from Brondby

last summer, having previously

flopped at Celtic, has continued his

form of last season, when he scored

30 in all competitions.

His hat-trick against Newcastle

reflected his penalty-box prowess.

All three goals came from inside

the area – and he is no more

dangerous than when he has just

ventured into the 18-yard box. This

is a man who fires accurate arrows,

not necessarily long-range rockets.

The opening two goals against

Newcastle were both with his right

foot, from around 15 yards. Pukki’s

right-footed goals are a familiar

sight at Carrow Road, as this is by

far his stronger foot for finishing.

The first was a sweet volley, the

second was just tucked away in a

narrow space after a few smart,

cushioning touches.

What should frighten slack

Why Pukki is

a nightmare to

defend against

Arindam Rej analyses

the Finnish striker’s

attributes that make him

invaluable to Norwich

Directionc

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Pukki’s passes v Newcastle

y after

took a

ing French winger Allan Saint-Max-

imin, a £16.5 million summer

signing from Nice, will be available

all bed in, find their feet, but obvi-

ously you want them to hit the

ground running quickly.

system.”

Salomon Rondon often led the

line for Newcastle industriously

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Direction

of play

Pukki’s touches v Newcastle

Goal On target Off target

Pukki’s shots v Newcastle

Fast start: Teemu

Pukki has scored

four goals in

his first two

Premier League

appearances

defenders is that he added a third

with his left. The 29-year-old cut

inside and delicately touched the

ball in with his weaker foot.

He has slick feet and his relative

lack of height, at just under 6ft,

means he is not an obvious

aerial target.

His finishing has not been

unblemished in the Premier

League so far – he could

actually have had a couple more

• but, unlike during his Celtic
  days, the confidence is there and
  he is looking sharp.

MOVEMENT

Pukki’s movement is performed

with a subtle simplicity, which

makes him so efficient, and such a

headache for defenders.

Steve Bruce, the Newcastle

manager, was spot on when he

said, in his post-match press

conference, that his team should

not have given Pukki one yard of

space, yet they gave him two.

It is noticeable how often the

striker pops up in the right

position. He can glide past

defenders – the way that he left

Fabian Schar trailing on one

occasion on Saturday was an

example. He can turn sharply

and be evasive.

Because his activity is

concentrated in central areas,

he needs those alongside him to be

more mobile.

But that is not an issue because

of the dynamism of Norwich’s

attacking midfielders – including

the likes of Emi Buendia – and

forward-thinking, energetic

full-backs – Max Aarons and Jamal

Lewis – providing width.

LINK-UP PLAY

Norwich are quick to

move forward, as they

showed last season, and capable

of devastating counter-attacks – a

style that suits Pukki.

The Finnish striker likes to run

in behind defenders and he is also

effective with his back to goal.

Those qualities help him to bring

others into play.

Again, that tends to be most in

evidence inside the penalty area.

He is strong with his hold-up play

and knows how to deliver a key

pass. His fitness and physicality

appear to have improved

compared to when he was at Celtic.

Norwich manager Daniel Farke

praised Pukki for the way he

charged back in the first half on

Saturday to try to win the ball,

calling him a role model.

But that may have been a

message to encourage the player to

track back more.

Then again, Norwich’s central

midfielders – such as Marco

Stiepermann – can offer a level of

control that allows Pukki to link

the play in his favoured areas.

Farke knows that there could be

times this season when goalscoring

will not come as easily to Pukki in

the Premier League, which is why

the link-up play of the player – who

idolised Brazil’s Ronaldo as a

youngster – could become

increasingly important.

The striker had only 27 touches across

the 90 minutes, but 11 of them came in

the Newcastle 18-yard box – underlining

his status as a penalty-area predator.

Pukki had six shots on target. His three

goals were each scored from a virtually

identical spot, on the left of the penalty

box, about 12-15 yards out.

The Finn is not expected to

become involved in play

outside the box. He completed

just nine passes all game –

the next lowest figure for a

Norwich starter was Marco

Stiepermann with 43.

The Daily Telegraph Monday 19 August 2019 *** 13
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