Everyone is still catching their breath after the weekend’s superb display at St James’ Park. It was a pulsating encounter, that saw us lost a two-goal lead. However, there was nothing but pride in the team at the final whistle. It was an excellent performance and it underlined how far we have come since the takeover.
Below we look at three interesting stats from the weekend, including a focus on the undoubted man of the match, Allan Saint-Maximin.
The front three’s threat – 10 shots
It was an impressive performance from each of the front three. We could discuss them all in isolation, as we do with Saint-Maximin later on. However, it is worth discussing their effectiveness as a trio.
The club will be keen to strengthen their attacking options before the end of the month. That being said, the current front line are starting to build a relationship that we have previously not seen. They were combining well and carrying a big threat on both sides of the pitch, aided by the work of the midfield.
Between them, Miguel Almiron, Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson had 10 shots on goal. This was their highest number as a trio across the first three matches and it was against the current champions.
Last season, there were concerns about our low shot volume. If our attack can continue to produce these numbers on a weekly basis, those worries will quickly subside.
Bruno Guimaraes – 34 pressures
It is easy to take Bruno Guimaraes for granted, as he does perform to a high level on a weekly basis. There have been some concerns about him playing as the deepest of the three midfielders, but he was very disciplined on Sunday, despite an early yellow card.
He made more pressures than any other player on the pitch with 34, showing how we weren’t passive in the middle third. It can be easy to drop off against Manchester City, given their quality. Eddie Howe didn’t want that and his Brazilian international symbolised that approach.
To provide context, the next highest in the pressing numbers was Almiron with 21.
Although Bruno has been performing well in the deeper role, he would offer so much more as one of the number eights. It is an interesting situation for Howe to manage and a lot may depend on the rest of the transfer window.
Allan Saint-Maximin – Nine shot creating actions
The Frenchman delivered a performance for the ages at the weekend. After a summer of speculation, this display underlined the importance of Allan Saint-Maximin. He was unplayable for large portions of the game and had a hand in all three goals.
He got the assists for Miguel Almiron and Callum Wilson. Meanwhile, it was his driving run in field that led to Kieran Trippier’s free kick.
Saint-Maximin contributed nine shot creating actions and 0.9 xA (expected assists), showing his creativity. More impressively, his ability to carry the ball caused a lot of problems for Manchester City.
The forward made 15 progressive carries during the game. The next highest in the game was Bernardo Silva with 12. Saint-Maximin was our best player and the key reason for the three goals we scored.
Stats taken by fbref (powered by Statsbomb)
