Newcastle United recorded their second win of the Premier League season on Sunday afternoon with a well fought away win against Swansea City.
Rafa Benitez was not there to oversee the Magpies’ victory, but first-team coach Mikel Antia looked on as the visitors clinched yet another important three points.
The game was a difficult one for both sides. There were a few talking points, with Mikel Merino being denied a penalty, along with Matt Ritchie perhaps escaping a red card after a high challenge on Alfie Mawson.
Newcastle captain Jamaal Lascelles prevented Swansea from taking the lead with a superb goal-line clearance, and his contributions to the win didn’t end there.
The powerful defender placed a bullet header beyond the reach of Lukasz Fabianski late in the second half to hand Newcastle their first win on the road this season.
It was a solid display from the Magpies, and here are our player ratings from the win.
Rob Elliot - 8
Made some excellent saves, and was a big part of Newcastle coming away with their second consecutive clean sheet.
Javier Manquillo - 7
A good display from the Spaniard. Was ever-present in attacking and defensive situations and is looking sharp.
Jamaal Lascelles - 9
Almost faultless. Was solid throughout, led by example and showed the grit and determination required to survive in this league. Massively impressive.
Ciaran Clark - 7
Clark was also solid next to Lascelles and played a big part in the victory.
Jesus Gamez - 7
A strong performance on the left.
Isaac Hayden - 7
An efficient performance in the middle from Hayden.
Mikel Merino - 8
Showed his quality in the middle yet again. However, should have been carded for his dive; he’s too good to do that, and doesn’t need that kind of misconduct to overshadow his talents.
Matt Ritchie - 7
A good performance for Ritchie but was extremely fortunate to remain on the pitch.
Ayoze Perez - 6
A quiet one from Perez. He didn’t really influence proceedings but produced a few nice touches.
Jacob Murphy - 5
Anonymous throughout.
Joselu - 7
Joselu had a superb header saved by Fabianski. He offered a presence up top.
Substitutes
Christian Atsu – 5 – Seriously wasteful on the ball.
Mohamed Diame – 6 – Solid in the middle and closed the game out well.
Dwight Gayle – 5 – Was only on for 15 minutes but didn’t do a lot.