Newcastle United grabbed another vital three points on their route to safety as they saw off Everton 3-1 at home in the Premier League on Tuesday night.
A Mason Holgate own goal, followed by further strikes from Ryan Fraser and Kieran Trippier, were enough to give Eddie Howe’s team all three points at St. James’ Park, after Jamaal Lascelles had put into his own net in the first half.
However, while there were some very good individual performances from the North East club on the night, some may have been left disappointed by theirs, as The Transfer Tavern use statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were.
Could this trio be looking over their shoulders as Eddie Howe plots changes for the clash with Aston Villa?
Matt Targett
A new arrival from the Midlands, Targett was ranked as the Tyneside outfit’s third-worst player on the pitch, handed a 6.7/10 overall rating.
The left-back lost out on four of his duels, and also failed to block any shots, while misplacing seven of his 11 long balls. He also gave possession away 17 times, the fourth-most out of any of his teammates.
Given this carelessness with the ball, perhaps Howe will be considering a switch to the ever-reliable Paul Dummett against Villa’s impressive attack.
Chris Wood
While Kieran Trippier has been sensational since his arrival, one January signing who has struggled a bit to settle in the team is Wood, as he was given a 6.6 rating.
Yet to score in three games now for his new side, the New Zealand international lost a team-high 13 duels, while also failing to score with both of his shots on goal, and losing the ball on no fewer than on 20 separate occasions in total, the third-most out of any Magpies player.
Martin Dubravka
With a 6.5 rating, Dubravka was ranked as the Toon’s worst player.
Perhaps a bit harsh given he had little to do in the second half, the goalkeeper managed just 26 touches of the ball in total, the lowest out of any of his teammates to have played the full match, but still gave it away with seven of those.
He also only managed to make two saves, far fewer than Jordan Pickford’s seven, and of course conceded from a scrappy set piece.
In other news, find out who was accused of ‘wrestling’ against NUFC here!
