Newcastle United suffered their third Premier League defeat of the season this afternoon as Danny Welbeck’s double secured a 2-1 victory for Brighton & Hove Albion.
Eddie Howe’s side must have thought they had secured a point after Nick Waltemade scored his fourth goal in just five league games after joining from Stuttgart in the summer.
However, it was not meant to be and the aforementioned star’s efforts went in vain after Welbeck’s goal gave Fabian Hürzeler’s side three points at the Amex.
The Magpies currently sit in the bottom half of the table with just two wins and need a big reaction in their upcoming games to get their campaign back on track.
The coach will be extremely disappointed with such a result, but more importantly, many players who were given a chance to make a good impression from the off-season were not able to make a good impression.
Newcastle had a disappointing performance against Brighton
Howe has decided to continue using Brazil international Joelinton as part of his midfield three, despite recent criticism for his lack of impact.
However, his performance against the Seagulls was so disappointing that the 29-year-old was subsequently withdrawn during the break.
Despite completing 21 passes, he failed to create any chances for his team-mates, while losing 100% of his aerial duels on the south coast.
Joelinton was not the only player to fail to produce against Haseler’s side, with full-back Dan Byrne also failing to help the Magpies claim the three points against his former employers.
The 33-year-old won just four of the 14 games he played during his 90-minute performance, before being dribbled past twice by former Newcastle star Yankuba Minte.
Despite the aforementioned duo’s performances, another first-team member produced an unforgettable afternoon and Howe was forced into action.
Newcastle star players need to be released after Brighton
After selling Alexander Isak during the summer, it was important that Newcastle invested enough in the squad to avoid a drop in the Premier League standings.
As mentioned above, Wolte Maid is making a serious move for the Magpies and is already looking like the club’s most threatening option within the final third.
There has also been significant investment at the other end of the pitch, with Malik Thiau joining from AC Milan in a £40m deal and subsequently cementing his place in the starting eleven in recent weeks.
However, Anthony Elanga, added in the same summer, struggled to produce the type of display that saw the class pay close to £55m for his services.
The Swede has failed to score or assist in 10 games across all competitions, and his performance against the Seagulls highlighted his lack of impact so far.
He was named in the starting eleven for this afternoon’s game against Hürzeler’s side, but once again fell short of the faith coach Howe had shown in him.
Like Joelinton, Elanga was also pinned down at half-time with a lack of impact, but his underlying numbers showed just how miserable he was in the Magpies’ recent defeat.
Anthony Elanga – Statistics against Brighton | |
|---|---|
statistics | tally |
Play time (minutes) | 45 |
touch | 20 |
pass completed | 12 |
completed cross | 0 |
Dribbling completed | 0 |
won a duel | 50% |
dribbled past | 1 |
match rating | 4/10 |
Statistics by FotMob | |
He failed to complete any dribbles or crosses he attempted, and only one of the passes he attempted went into the final third of the pitch.
Elanga also came out on top in just 50% of all duels he played in, but failed to even create a chance for his teammates during his 45 minutes of playing.
To further emphasize his lack of impact, he only had 20 total touches, fewer than goaltender Nick Pope, who had 40 total touches.
As a result of that performance, Elanga was given a match rating of just 4/10 by Newcastle World journalist Jordan Cronin, further exposing his lack of impact.
Given his performances, Howe is keen to let the winger go, which would see the 23-year-old dropped to the substitute bench for future matches.
His huge price tag certainly increases the pressure on his shoulders, but the attacker needs to be given time to adapt to the demands of the North East.