Rafael Benitez believes it has been a very good week for Newcastle following victories over Cardiff and Blackburn in the league and cup, respectively.
The Spaniard saw his side leapfrog Saturday’s opponents and move out of the bottom three after a surprising brace from Fabian Schar and a late strike from Ayoze Perez gave Newcastle a 3-0 win over Cardiff.
Benitez’s side had been without a league victory for over a month prior to the victory over Cardiff, but the Newcastle boss was feeling positive following back-to-back wins in all competitions.
The team was playing well with energy and intensity. It has been a very good week and everyone’s happy and try to carry on. We will have a lot of games against teams close to us and these are key. We played well and the fans appreciated that and stuck with us to the end.
While the focus of the match for Benitez was to win and move out of the bottom three, much of the build-up to the game had been dominated by speculation of a takeover at Newcastle.
The Spaniard, however, did not want to comment on the potential takeover or any transfer speculation following the result.
I’m not talking about the transfer window or the takeover. After the game, it’s about enjoying it and having a rest. I cannot control the other things.
Defender Schar scored twice in Saturday’s win, and Benitez was full of praise for the Switzerland international.
Fabian did well. He is a player who is good on the ball but especially with his right foot.
He has a lot of confidence in himself. He knows his ability and is confident. When he’s not playing he is not happy but when he is playing he wants to show the quality he has. He’s helping a lot.
Newcastle face Watford in the fourth round of the FA Cup next weekend, following the midweek replay 4-2 victory over Blackburn.
