Garth Crooks has named Federico Fernandez in his Premier League team of the week following Newcastle United’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth on Saturday.
The Magpies picked up a second successive win thanks to goals from Deandre Yedlin and Ciaran Clark, but it was the Argentine defender who caught Crooks’ eye.
Speaking about the 30-year-old to the BBC, he said: “Ciaran Clark and DeAndre Yedlin may have been the defenders who scored Newcastle’s goals but in was Fernandez who won them the points.
“It was the Argentine who was prepared to put his head in the fray to stop Joshua King from nodding home an equaliser. It was just enough for King to think about a clash of heads or a broken nose but it was enough.”
OPINION
This was a vital win for Newcastle, and one that massively changes the complexion of things on Tyneside. With the Magpies now up to 13th, just two points off fifth, there is, for the first time this season, some kind of hope that things may not be as doom-laden as initially feared by many fans. Fernandez certainly played his part in brining about that change of perspective. He was wonderful against Bournemouth, and his total of three tackles and a massive 10 clearances, as per Whoscored, should tell you all you need to know about how immense he was this weekend. With Jamaal Lascelles going off injured, and with Florian Lejeune not quite back to match fitness yet either, Steve Bruce may have to rely heavily on the South American in the coming weeks, and he proved on Saturday that he is more than capable of handling that pressure.
