OPINION

Newcastle United hosted Bournemouth at St James Park on Saturday and were looking to secure their second win of the season.

The Magpies beat Watford 1-0 last weekend and clearly had inspired Rafa Benitez’s team to play with a new found confidence as they started the game in great fashion.

Salomon Rondon struck twice in the first half to put the Magpies 2-0 ahead, however his side ended up going into the half-time break with the score 2-1.

After no goals followed in the second half, Benitez was able to celebrate his side racking up another three points.

Nothing but Newcastle has identified three things learned after the Magpies’ clash with Bournemouth on Saturday.

Perez is lightweight

Ayoze Perez showed that he is a talented player when on the ball as he made some nice passes and interesting runs. However his poor finishing ability as well as how easy it is to bundle him off the ball, means he needs to be axed. Perez doesn’t show signs that he is improving game to game or learning from his mistakes. He is simply at a level which he coasts at and until Benitez gives him  a needed wake-up call by dropping him, that doesn’t look like changing. The 25-year-old for that reason must be axed by the Magpies boss for at least the first game after the international break as it might make him realise he needs to improve the weak areas of his game before it is too late. Perez has been a mainstay of the Magpies’ first team in recent seasons and that needs to change pronto.

Diame was immense

Mohamed Diame was immense against Bournemouth especially in the first-half. The 31-year-old midfielder, for whatever reason, played like a man possessed as he tried to ensure that his side got the ball. Diame constantly was in the right places to win the battle in midfield for possession on behalf of his side and actually distributed the ball in a fantastic way. Usually the experienced midfielder can be sloppy in possession and clumsy in the tackle, but that was not the case on Saturday. There was one frustrating moment with him as at one point his good performance went to his head and he kinda of showboated by not moving the ball quickly, which nearly saw the Cherries gifted an opportunity to go on the attack. Yet aside from that, it’s hard to fault Diame.

Ki can’t be dropped

Ki Sung-yueng cannot be dropped regardless  if Jonjo Shelvey is back fit after the international break. Shelvey missed Saturday’s clash against Bournemouth due to an injury and his teammates stepped up in his absence, in particular Ki. The summer recruit who has struggled for his opportunities since joining, made the most of his chance to impress. Ki used his experience to dictate the game for the Magpies and his passing was a joy to behold as it ensure that his team didn’t lose possession needlessly. While Benitez normally get handed selection dilemma, it’s usually because of struggling players and him not having many options. However Ki has given the Magpies manager a difficult decision to make regarding his midfield in the near future, but it’s one that in fairness there may be no wrong answer to.