One Newcastle United berth is up for grabs more than others.
Manchester City’s opening goal in the Premier League defeat over Newcastle United has received the most attention in the aftermath of the game at the Etihad Stadium.
United right back Kieran Trippier missed the flight of Ederson’s lofted pass up the pitch, missing the header and allowing Omar Marmoush to score the first of three goals in the champions’ 4-0 victory. Overall, it was a difficult afternoon for the 34-year-old – and his defensive rivals – who had been recalled to the team following a great performance in the Carabao Cup semi-final second leg against Arsenal.
Gary Neville, who also had a successful career on the right side of defence at the highest level, saw Trippier’s role in the opening goal and admits Marmoush’s run was nearly impossible to defend.
“There are certain players who catch my eye purely because he plays where I used to play or in the area where I used to play,” he told me. “He’s definitely a left-sided forward, whereas I was a right-back. He makes the runs that I would not want you to make. Those incredibly fast runs.
“That run he made inside Trippier for the first goal, I know Trippier got under it in the end, but that run will make you happy. Any left or right winger watching will be delighted if you go hard and fast between the fullback and centre-back four or five times per half. I promise you. This is a fact.
“The fullbacks despised it. Fullbacks despise it because it forces them to choose between letting him go and playing offside and following him. “That is the challenge.”
With Newcastle facing a difficult run of games in the coming weeks – Nottingham Forest, Liverpool, Brighton, West Ham, and Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final – the right-back position is surely up for grabs in Eddie Howe’s team. The Newcastle manager may be considering bringing Tino Livramento back into the squad after calling on the full-back to replace Trippier at halftime on Saturday afternoon.
Howe is aware that he has more than capable options at right-back, with the two alternating in the pecking order since the beginning of the season. Trippier sees Saturday’s setback as a squandered opportunity to establish a starting spot between now and the Carabao Cup final.
But one performance will not affect Howe’s opinion of the dressing room captain, who he has pushed to keep at the club since January 2024. “He is unique; no one can do what he can do – set-play delivery, passing ability, and overall leadership are all unique,” Newcastle manager stated earlier this month.
“The old school leadership where you’re talking and communicating with everybody, thinking about the whole team rather than just yourself, it is almost a bit of a dying art now.”
