Swansea City 0-1 Newcastle United: Jamaal Lascelles proves a hero in both boxes as he saves a certain goal before scoring the winner
- Renato Sanches made an underwhelming debut for Swansea in a scoreless first half at the Liberty Stadium
- Swansea were the better side after the break and Tammy Abraham had an effort cleared off the line
- That clearance was made by Jamaal Lascelles who popped up at the other end soon after to head the winner
- It meant a victory for Newcastle, who were without manager Rafa Benitez due to a recent operation
From fear, loathing and illness on Tyneside to joy and surprise in South Wales. Even by Newcastle United’s recent standards, this was quite a journey — not least because their manager was too unwell to make it himself.
Instead, Rafa Benitez was tucked up at home, nursing his way back to health after undergoing a procedure last week to address an infection in his groin.
The northern worry, quite understandably, is that his absence will soon be permanent, given his frequent grumblings about his club’s transfer ambitions and the admirers he has in other parishes.
Jamaal Lascelles got the Newcastle match-winner at Swansea, scoring a header deep into the second half to secure a 1-0 win
The Newcastle captain ensured that Rafa Benitez's absence from the Liberty Stadium was not keenly felt
The centre half rose highest in the Swansea box to get above Alfie Mawson and power a header past Lukasz Fabianski
Renato Sanches failed to impress during his Premier League debut and was replaced by returning Swan Wilfried Bony
But for all his pessimism, almost all justified, it was difficult yesterday to find fault in the collective commitment of the squad he has been left with post-window.
True, this win was largely about Swansea deficiencies and, indeed, Paul Clement was hopping mad about the performance.
But two gritty moments 16 minutes apart demonstrated why Newcastle took the points. The first came when Jamaal Lascelles bust a gut on the hour to clear off his line from Tammy Abraham. And the second came on 76 minutes when the same player stuck his head where no Swansea man would dare, to win it.
All eyes were on Swansea's surprise loan signing Renato Sanches as the young Portuguese star made his debut
With Rafa Benitez absent through illness, Mikel Antia, first team coach, was the main man in the Newcastle dugout
Jacob Murphy was also handed his full Premier League debut, playing alongside fellow Newcastle summer arrival Joselu
Mikel Merino's form was good enough to keep Jonjo Shelvey on the bench after the latter's return from suspension
Nothing spectacular, no great flair, but three points built on patience and strategy — Newcastle sat back, did what dirty things needed to be done and slapped Swansea when the opening came.
They now sit in the top 10 on the back of two straight wins and two clean sheets. That may well just be papering over the cracks before the lack of squad strength tells a greater truth, but out of the anxieties of recent weeks, they are in none too shabby a position.
For Swansea and Clement, this was an exercise in head scratching. He lost his two best players in the transfer window — Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fernando Llorente — and the rebuild could be a slow one.
Sanches looked rusty in his first start for the Swans but did not shy away from the action, getting in a tangle with Merino
The coming together saw the Bayern Munich loanee hit the deck but he was soon back on his feet and was able to continue
In a quiet opening half hour Murphy had arguably the best of the chances but was unable to find the target
Murphy knew he'd spurned a good chance as he hit the deck and tried to pick the ball out in the crowd behind the goal
Renato Sanches got a start after his surprising loan from Bayern Munich but looked like a player who has barely played since riding his hype to Germany last summer. One stat showed he lost possession 14 times in the opening 28 minutes. Wilfried Bony only had the fitness for a place on the bench in his second coming.
Neither man could land a significant blow in a team performance that fell woefully short. Indeed, it was Swansea who seemed to suffer from breakdowns in communication, rather than the side led by a man with a phone in his bedroom on the Wirral.
In Benitez’s absence, the first call was to bring in Jesus Gamez and Jacob Murphy for Christian Atsu and the injured Chancel Mbemba and the strategy brief ran along the lines of holding fire and shooting at Swansea on the counter.
Soon after Joselu forced Lukasz Fabianski into a fabulous finger-tip save to turn away the Spaniard's goal-bound header
Joselu's reaction to Fabianski's save shows just how close he went to giving Newcastle the lead at the Liberty Stadium
Joselu appeals to referee Mike Jones after Merino went down in the box but replays showed the Toon midfielder dived
Alfie Mawson went close at the other end for Swansea as he rose highest at a corner only to see his header go wise
Jordan Ayew also had a good chance for the hosts, getting some just outside the box and forcing a good save from Rob Elliot
Sanches failed to hit the high notes in his first 45 minutes of Premier League action, losing possession too often
It worked a treat, with Swansea dominating but repeatedly coughing up possession without creating chances. It has been their recurring problem this season with only 17 shots lodged in three games before this one and an issue which Sanches will be expected to address. Without that cutting edge Swansea were repeatedly hit on the break, most notably around the half hour when Joselu met Matt Ritchie’s cross and glanced a header across goal. It required an excellent save from Lukasz Fabianski.
The first-half controversy was provided when Ritchie went in high on Alfie Mawson and was punished with nothing more than a yellow card.
The best Swansea could manage in attack was a wasteful header from Mawson after a Tom Carroll corner, before Sanches had his big moment in the second half with a free-kick 25 yards out. He skied it over the bar. Clement puffed out his cheeks and did so again on the hour when Leroy Fer hit a perfect pass between Lascelles and Ciaran Clark into the path of Abraham.
His touch took him past Elliot and his cut-back was heading for goal only for Lascelles to block. It was a captain’s intervention, followed by a captain’s winner when he met Matt Ritchie’s corner with the firmest of headers. No marking worth the description from Swansea and no points, either. Benitez might even have managed a smile before reaching for the remote.
Matt Ritchie appeared lucky to escape more serious punishment for a rash high-foot challenge on Mawson in the second half
Referee Jones deemed the challenge only worthy of a yellow card, despite Sadio Mane's red for a similar foul on Saturday
Abraham came within inches of giving Swansea the lead as he latched on to Leroy Fer's pass and rounded Elliot
The striker thought he had scored as he slid the ball ball towards an empty net but Lascelles got back clear off the line
Lascelles appeared from nowhere to slide in and divert Abraham's goal-bound effort behind for a corner
The defender then popped up at the other end to head home and ensure all three points return to the north east
Lascelles celebrates after the final whistle at the Liberty Stadium safe in the knowledge that his goal had won the game
Most watched Sport videos
- Heartwarming moment NY Red Bulls players give their coats to mascots
- Steph Houghton trains with England team mates ahead of World Cup
- Gareth Southgate comments on design change of new England shirt
- Fake clip claiming to show Swift and Kelce falling off a swing
- New York Jets star Sauce Gardner claims Jewish people 'run the world'
- Kelce dances to Taylor Swift's 'Bad Blood' on the golf course
- Travis and Jason Kelce CLASH over who would win a drinking contest
- NRL star Liam Knight dying his hair a very white blonde
- YouTuber buys Marcus Rashford's wrecked £700k Rolls-Royce
- David Seaman on Southgate, England & EURO 2024
- Kate Abdo's partner broken speaks on Carragher's 'loyalty' joke
- A brawl erupts between Sydney Roosters and Rabbitohs fans