Daily Mirror - 19.08.2019

19.08.2019 DAILY MIRROR

mirror.co.uk/sport/football^5

DM1ST

IN ASSOCIATION

WITH

COMING UP...

FACT ROOM...

NORWICH

Sat Chelsea (home) ...........PL

Aug 31 West Ham (away) ........PL

Sep 14 Man City (home) ..........PL

NEWCASTLE

Sun Tottenham (away) .......PL

Aug 31 Watford (home) ...........PL

Sep 14 Liverpool (away) .........PL

THEY SAID IT...

We were nowhere near good

enough and it was a disappointing

afternoon with and without the

ball.

STEVE BRUCE

Norwich are unbeaten in their last

seven home Premier League

games against Newcastle.

Daniel Farke is the first Norwich

boss to win his opening home Prem

game since Mike Walker in August

1992.

The last five Newcastle managers

have all lost their first away Prem

match in charge – Alan Pardew,

John Carver, Steve McClaren,

Rafael Benitez and Steve Bruce.

Teemu Pukki is the first player to

score a Premi hat-trick for Norwich

since Efan Ekoku against Everton in

September 1993.

Teemu Pukki is the first Norwich

player to score in his first two

Prem appearances for the club

since Ashley Ward in Dec 1994.

Since the start of last season, Pukki

has scored 33 league goals – more

than any other player across the

top four tiers of English football.

mirror.co.uk/sport/football

NORWICH

Krul ..................................................7

Aarons BOOKED ...............................7

Janley..............................................7

Godfrey .......................................... 8

Lewis .............................................. 6

Trybull .............................................7

Letner............................................. 8

Cantwell ..........................................7

Stiepermann .................................. 6

Buendia .......................................... 6

Pukki .............................................. 9

SUBS

Vrancic (Stiepermann 84)

Tettey (Trybull 87)

Byram (Lewis 90)

NEWCASTLE

Dubravka ........................................ 6

Schar .............................................. 5

Lascelles ........................................ 5

Dummett BOOKED .......................... 5

Krafth ............................................. 5

Hayden ............................................7

Shelvey ........................................... 6

Ki .................................................... 5

Ritchie .............................................7

Almiron ........................................... 4

Joelinton BOOKED .......................... 4

SUBS

Muto (Joelinton 67) ....................... 4

Longstaff BOOKED (Ki 74)............... 5

STATS YOUR LOT...

63% POSSESSION 37%

8 SHOTS ON TARGET 3

3 SHOTS OFF TARGET 7

539 TOTAL PASSES 329

87% PASSING SUCCESS 80%

7 CORNERS 5

2 OFFSIDE 1

9 FOULS 11

0 1 CARDS 3 0

TEEMU PUKKI

MAN OF THE MATCH

REFEREE

Stuart Attwell

ATTENDANCE

27,059

folksy style to his predecessor’s

more austere practices – and,

crucially, they’ve moved on too.

“Look, Rafa has gone,” said

Matt Ritchie, who along with

Isaac Hayden, could hold his

head up high.

“That’s over. It’s a new era now

and we have to look forward,

not backwards. There’s a new

manager come in, someone the

players and the club believes in.

“We are working day in, day

out to perform to our highest

level and we fell short. We have

to stick together and try to

improve.

“The group is very similar to

last season and I still believe

the new additions can

strengthen us.”

Ritchie added: “Everyone

has to be patient. There’s

been a slight adjustment to

the system. We didn’t play well

but we find the reasons, work

through the week and go again.”

Now there’s a rallying call,

Benitez, Bruce and the entire

Toon Army can take inspiration

from.

the deadlock, wilted after that.

There is a lot wrong with

Newcastle and unless there’s

dramatic improvement, a grim

survival battle is looming.

But like it or not, Bruce

(below) isn’t viewed in the

Newcastle dress-

ing room as a

pariah. Some

players even

prefer his

consider changes to the system

while there will be personnel

changes at Tottenham on

Sunday with Sean Longstaff

likely to be restored.

Norwich were magnificent

and look capable of flourishing

in the months ahead.

They fizzed with energy,

sprayed the ball around with

pace and imagination,

cavalry-charged forward and

defended with collective zeal.

And hat-trick hero Teemu

Pukki (left) was so good

even talk of him becoming

the first forward from a

club outside the top six

since Kevin Phillips to

score 30 in a season

did not sound too pre-

posterous on Saturday

night. The visitors,

though, were ponderous, piece-

meal and powderpuff.

Worryingly, their two front-

men gave most cause for

concern. Miguel Almiron was

in headless chicken mode

while Joelinton, after missing

a gilt-edged chance to break

would not have lost as decisively,

as abjectly or might not have

lost at all had Rafa Benitez been

in charge.

“He’d have picked a better

balanced side,” they’ll say. Or

“The gameplan would have been

better.” Perhaps. Or maybe not.

Prior to Saturday, Newcastle

had failed to score in their last

seven opening away-day

fixtures, winning just once since

2007 – against, ahem, Bruce’s

Sunderland.

It wasn’t the defeat, however,

nor even the margin of it but the

manner which is stretching

patience – and Bruce reacted

immediately.

Within minutes of boarding

the coach taking the squad to

the airport, he announced he’d

cancelled yesterday as a day off.

“I can’t forgive a performance

where basically you don’t put

your boots on,” he fumed.

“Unfortunately, it’s happened

already, but I’ll do all I can to

make sure that changes. There

are times you need an inquest

and we’ll have one.” Bruce will

lld hh l d l

Ritchie: Rafa’s gone.. it’s a new era and we look forward

BY IAN MURTAGH
RAFA’S gone. Get over it.
Words guaranteed to
antagonise thousands of
Newcastle fans but a statement
that needs hammering home.
And for those who flooded
social media to justifiably berate
a woeful Newcastle performance
and even demand the sacking of
Steve Bruce after two games
need to know something else.
Bruce is staying for the
foreseeable future. Accept it.
For those Toon fans
unfortunate to be at Carrow
Road and for thousands across
the north east, it was inevitable
post-match analysis would
focus on managers past and
present. Indeed, it’s fair to say
the conclusion drawn by the
vast majority is the Magpies

NORWICH 3

Pukki 32, 63, 75

NEWCASTLE 1

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HUMBLED

Matt Ritchie tries to

lift dejected players

at Carrow Road

Saturday’s goal was

Newcastle’s only strike in

their opening away league

fixture for eight years

Aug 25, 2012

Chelsea 2 Newcastle 0

Aug 19, 2013

Manc City 4 Newcastle 0

Aug 23, 2014

Aston Villa 0 Newcastle 0

Aug 15, 2015

Swansea 2 Newcastle 0

Aug 5, 2016

Fulham 1 Newcastle 0

Aug 20, 2017

Hudd’field 1 Newcastle 0

Aug 18, 2018

Cardiff 0 Newcastle 0

Aug 17, 2019

Norwich 3 Newcastle 1

(^) P W D L F A Pts
Norwich 2 1 0 1 4 5 3
Leicester 2 0 2 0 1 1 2
Wolves 1 0 1 0 0 0 1
C Palace 2 0 1 1 0 1 1
Chelsea 2 0 1 1 1 5 1
West Ham 2 0 1 1 1 6 1
Aston Villa 2 0 0 2 2 5 0
Newcastle 2 0 0 2 1 4 0
Southampton 2 0 0 2 1 5 0
Watford 2 0 0 2 0 4 0
AND HOWAY FROM
HOME IT’S GRIM
BOTTOM OF PREM
GOING DOWN...
Newcastle already second
favourites for the drop
RELEGATION (Hills):
11/10 Sheff U
6/5 Newcastle
13/8 Norwich
7/4 A Villa