As reported by the Chronicle, Rafa Benitez clearly believes that Tuesday’s EFL Cup defeat was not just the fault of ‘keeper Matz Sels.
When asked about the Belgian stopper, Benitez said: “I don’t want to talk about the goalkeeper – the team as a team made mistakes. That is what allowed them to score.
“It is not about the keeper – it was the midfielders, the defenders, everyone. We allowed them to get to a position where they should not have been.”
Benitez also moved quickly to reassure those fans who have been fearful, following the last two games, adding: “When you are winning so many games, every time you have a defeat or a bad result, people will talk and ask questions. Now, we will see what will happen.
“But it was a long season before this week, and it will be a long season after this week.
“We still have to carry on working hard and doing things in the same way.”
The Newcastle manager also saw positives in the game, saying: “If you see the game, what can you say? We had five or six chances in the first half where we could have scored, and we played really well against a Premier League team.
“The game was different in the second half, they were pushing, but still we were defending and doing well.
“In extra-time, we had the control, but we made one or two mistakes and that is something we have to do better.”