Five takeaways from Newcastle 4-0 Girona – Midfield monster, pressing, Pope and U21s

Newcastle United won 4-0 at St. James’ Park as they continued their preparations for the new Premier League season against Girona in front of 31,958 fans.

In a game that was over by half-time, United took the lead in the 3^rd minute through Sean Longstaff, before two goals in three minutes via Jacob Murphy, and the returning Anthony Gordon, made it 3-0 after just a quarter-of-an-hour. Longstaff added a fourth in the 38^th minute and the second half was a complete non-event, aside from some moments of brilliance from Trevan Sanusi and Alexander Isak.

Here are our five key takeaways from the game:

1.    The Return of the High Press

Through a combination of injuries and a manic schedule United often lost their relentless high pressing style last season, so it was marvellous to see that return here, especially with no new first team signings appearing to be imminent.

Joelinton is a huge part of the press, and he excelled here (see point 3), with support from Jamie Miley and Longstaff, it allowed the team to swarm over Girona in the first half with two of the four goals scored coming from the high press.

Lewis Hall continued to invert to pack the middle third of the pitch and possession was won back before it was fed to Isak, Murphy or Livramento to power forward with their direct running.

When this team gets the high press right it is a special, as it showed in 2022/23 when it finished with the joint best defensive record in the league, often hardly conceding shots, let alone goals.

If United could combine 22/23s defence with 23/24s attacking output… we would be in for a special season indeed.

2.    Nick Pope: In the Middle of Our Goal

As a card-carrying member of the goalkeeper’s union, it was personally devastating when Nick Pope a) missed the Carabao Cup Final and b) when he got injured last season. If he stays fit this season Newcastle will be ultra-competitive at the top end of the Premier League.

He made some good saves during the game, including one low to his right at the near post in the second half from a driven Girona cross. A routine save, but one Dubravka failed to make time and again last season. He also caught well and marshalled his box before making way for John Ruddy to make his debut in the 77^th minute.

I’m still staggered Pope isn’t considered England’s number one.

3.    A Brazilian Colossus

It’s hard to believe that we once watched Joelinton kick his own shot into his face…

He had a superb 90 minutes. Two goals came from the Brazilian winning the ball back and a third came from him driving forward with the ball from deep. He continued that trend in the second half, whether out wide or through the middle, and was excellent throughout against an opponent who looked to pass out from the back.

However, he really should have scored in the first half when he hit the bar in the 38^th minute – his finishing continuing to be a less polished part of his game.

4. Youngsters continue to show their metal

Jamie Miley played well for 63 minutes, constantly getting his head up and looking for the forward pass and seems to have come on leaps and bounds over the summer.

Trevan Sanusi continued his eye-catching contributions in preseason with some strong running out wide, and solid decision making in the final third. Despite some ragged touches he is clearly an exciting, raw talent.

Ben Parkinson clearly needs to score some goals because whilst he was full of running, he struggled to really make any meaningful contributions.

The question remains as to whether any of these lads will be sticking around this season? I’d keep Sanusi in the squad for the early rounds of the League Cup, and in the case of Parkinson and J. Miley, I would think a loan is a possibility as first team opportunities are likely to be limited.

5. A Great Evening for the Fans (and the club’s development off the pitch)

When there is a clamour for tickets at United, preseason friendlies and cup games are likely to be the only opportunity for younger fans to see them play live and they got their money’s worth in game one of the Sela Weekender.

There were a lot of young faces in the crowd with the camera taking in a father and son in Batman and Robin fancy dress, in what would’ve been an excellent first game for many a young fan.

They saw Isak miss a penalty yet generally be world class, a bulldozer/colossus called Joelinton, England’s number one, England’s fullbacks for the next decade, and the second-best manager in the Premier League.

With the new St. James’ Stack opening too – it was a positive day all around for the club.

A cheeky 6^th: Thank you to whoever said no to signing Donny Van De Beek. That lad has been ruined by a combination of his own lack of ambition and Man Utd and Everton’s coaching setup.

A cheeky 7^th: I’m so glad the black socks are back!