Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez has hailed the importance of goalkeeper Martin Dubravka.
Speaking after Newcastle’s 2-1 defeat away to Manchester City, as quoted by Goal, the Spaniard singled out Dubravka for praise as he continued to keep the Magpies in the match.
When we signed him, we knew we were signing a good keeper. Not too many people knew him, but we were following him for a while and we knew he was a good keeper. We also knew he had a very good mentality and was a good professional.
Benitez’s side were only narrowly defeated by City but had their goalkeeper to thank, as he turned in yet another impressive performance.
Manchester City took the lead in the clash as Raheem Sterling fired the ball beyond Dubravka in exceptional fashion. DeAndre Yedlin levelled after bursting into the box to convert Salomon Rondon’s cross, but the decisive goal came from City right-back Kyle Walker as he thumped home from distance.
Dubravka’s loan deal at Newcastle was quickly made permanent at the end of last season after he established himself as an important part of Benitez’s plans at St James’ Park.
At just £4.5 million, the experienced goalkeeper is proving to be money well spent for Benitez and his Newcastle side.
He has been very good in the dressing room. In these type of games, his contribution is very important for us. When you have teams that are attacking so much, the keeper is the one that can give confidence to the defenders and he is doing well.
