Newcastle saw their four match winning streak come to a close against Everton on Monday night, handing a significant dent to the Magpies’ hopes of securing a top-half finish.
Theo Walcott netted the only goal of the game at Goodison Park to ensure all three points remained on Merseyside and Rafael Benitez was left disappointed by one aspect of his team’s performances, criticising the team’s inability to create chances.
Quoted by The Chronicle as stating after the game, Benitez said:
“Both teams, we didn’t have very clear chances, but I think we could have done better with our final pass in the final third. It might have been different for us if we had.”
“This kind of game, when they are very physical and the referee allows them to do these things; they are at home and they have quality, and they took their chance. We didn’t take our chances.”
“When I talk about chances I talk about final passes too. To be here, to play against this team, and to expect we have to beat them easily, is not right. They have very good players who can make the difference. We battled and we fought until the end. We had the chance to draw, maybe even win but we lost against a good team. That’s it.”
Issues in the final third are nothing new for Newcastle, as they’ve scored just 35 goals in 34 games this season- the joint-worst tally in the top-half of the Premier League.
