OPINION
Newcastle United bagged their first win of the season when they defeated Watford 1-0 on Saturday, and there were plenty of positives to take away from the game.
Substitute Ayoze Perez bagged the only game of the game in the 64th minute following a deflected shot from Ki Sung-Yueng, which all but secured the victory for the Magpies.
Watford piled on the pressure following the strike, but the defence stood firm against their threat in what was a monumental result for Rafa Benitez.
Nothing But Newcastle have picked out three things we learned about Newcastle v Watford below:
Perez proved doubters wrong
Perez was originally dropped to the bench by Benitez in favour of a Salomon Rondon and Yoshinori Muto partnership up front, but he came on for Muto in the second half – and what a difference he made. His goal was not the only thing that proved his doubters wrong, but it was his overall display that warranted merit. Gone was the player who has been abysmal – he has been replaced with someone a lot sharper and threatening on the ball. Perez has proved his doubters wrong, and he will no doubt be considered by Benitez for a start next week as a result.
Diame needs to be dropped ASAP
There is not much more that can be said about the performances of midfielder Mo Diame – every week he disappoints, yet he still starts the next week. When will Benitez learn that he is just a liability? He bordered on invisible during this fixture, apart from the one time when he forced a save from Watford keeper Ben Foster in the first half. That simply is not good enough, and the manager must surely now recognise that he needs to be dropped as soon as possible. There are only so many times a player can get away with poor performances – and you would hope that this game would be the final straw for the midfielder.
Ki was a revelation
Ki Sung-Yueng may not have started many times before he came on as a substitute during this match, but he certainly demonstrated why he was brought in during the summer. He was the one bright spark in the midfield, and it was clear that his attacking play made a real difference on the way Newcastle approached the match in the second half. He needs to start next week, as Benitez would be mad not to reward him after the contribution that he made here. His classy passing was at the forefront of Newcastle’s success, and it is evident that the 6ft 1in [Transfermarkt] maestro was a revelation for the Magpies.
