Harvey Barnes bagged a brace off the bench as Newcastle United beat Benfica on Tuesday.
Harvey Barnes has urged Newcastle United to continue “killing games off” like they did against Benfica.
A rampant second-half performance saw the Magpies put Jose Mourinho’s men to the sword on Tuesday. Barnes came off the bench to bag a late brace and, in doing so, put Newcastle on track for qualification to the knockout rounds.
Harvey Barnes issues battle cry
Speaking to NUFC TV, Barnes challenged his teammates to “push on” in the upcoming games. He said: "We've sort of been guilty a little bit this year of not going and getting the second and third goal and killing games off. So against Benfica, it was really pleasing to go and do that.
“You obviously have your responsibilities to help the team defensively but, as an attacking player coming on, it's important to go and help the team push on, go and get the next goals. We’ve probably not quite hit our heights this season of that free-flowing football, scoring, creating chances. That's what we do at our best, that's what we did last season.
“It's something that we know we're not quite there this season, but we're working on it. You see, against Benfica, when it does work, it really does, and we score goals, we create a lot of chances. So it's just about taking that into the next few games."
Eddie Howe headscratcher
After the Benfica game, Howe opened up about the contrasting form between the Premier League and Champions League. He told reporters: “Yeah, that's a head-scratcher for me as well because we know their qualities, we know they’re goal scorers, we know how good of players they are and that goes through for another few players in our squad as well.
“Everyone has pointed to the fact that we haven't been scoring enough in the Premier League. But when you see us play like we did tonight and how we attacked and the amount of chances we created, that's a difficult one for us to work out.”
Read More
‘Must contribute more’ - Eddie Howe
Howe also admitted that Newcastle’s wingers must contribute more this season. He added: “I think the wingers can do more, the creative midfielders can do more, our full backs can do more.
“They have been an incredible creative force for us for a long time. We need goals from set pieces, from free kicks and corners, there are many ways to score a goal. We have meetings with (the wingers) all the time - individually, as units and a team. We are constantly working on all phases of our game.
“There is an onus and a responsibility on the attacking players to contribute, but sometimes the problem doesn’t always exist with what you’re directly looking at and there is another reason behind it. It’s about giving everyone accountability within the team, myself included, to find a solution.”
Continue Reading