How did the players fare in Newcastle's 3-0 win over Sheffield United?
NEWCASTLE (4-4-1-1):
6 Dubravka: Will not have many quieter afternoons all season as he was barely extended by the Sheffield United attack
6 Manquillo: Defended solidly for the most part, but might well have been punished after losing Sharp in the second half
7 Fernandez: Dealt with McBurnie’s physical threat without too much fuss and was positionally impressive throughout
7 Lascelles: Led by example as he marshalled things from the heart of the back four and kept the Blades’ attackers at arm’s length
7 Rose: Contributed to an effective defensive effort and helped create space for Ritchie’s goal with a smart overlapping run
8 RITCHIE: Teed up Saint-Maximin’s goal with a slick low cross and found the target himself from the edge of the area
7 Hayden: Made a couple of extremely important sliding challenges when the scores were level in the first half
6 Shelvey: Worked hard throughout and made some telling passes, even if some of his long balls didn’t quite come off
8 Saint-Maximin: Troubled the Sheffield United defence with his pace and broke the deadlock with his fourth goal of the season
8 Almiron: Took the game to the opposition and set up Joelinton’s goal with an inch-perfect ball across the box
7 Joelinton: Shrugged off the disappointment of a poor first-half miss to score his first league goal since August late on
Subs:
Carroll (for Joelinton, 79)
Bentaleb (for Saint-Maximin, 79)
Lazaro (for Almiron, 85)
Schar (for Shelvey, 85)
Yedlin (for Ritchie, 90)
(not used): Darlow (gk), Krafth, Muto, Gayle.
SHEFF UTD (3-5-2):
Henderson 6; BASHAM 6, Egan 3, Robinson 5; Baldock 5, Berge 5 (Lundstram 66, 4), Norwood 4, Fleck 4 (L Freeman 74), Stevens 5; McBurnie 4 (K Freeman 84), Sharp 6 (Zivkovic 74).
Subs (not used): Moore (gk), Jagielka, Osborn, Rodwell, Mousset.
Man Of The Match: MATT RITCHIE – The Scotsman could be heard barking out instructions throughout – and he led by example as he claimed a goal and an assist.
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