Newcastle United were well beaten by a classy Atletico Madrid side at St James’ Park on Saturday, with Eddie Howe’s side losing the Sela Cup for the first time.
Despite a positive first half, the Magpies were not able to capitalise and conceded twice in the space of 12 minutes.
Goals from Julian Alvarez and Antoine Griezmann sealed the deal for Atletico Madrid and ensured that Newcastle United ended pre-season without a single win. Fans will hope that morale is not too low after the defeat, especially with a tough Premier League season on the horizon.
There was concern during the game, with Anthony Gordon going off injured before full-time, but the winger has since confirmed that he is okay on social media.
Newcastle failed to impress in the second half, with the likes of Nick Pope and Alex Murphy playing particularly poorly. However, Spanish media are believed to be impressed with the performance of one Newcastle player, who they said gave Atletico’s back-line a ‘nightmare’.
Anthony Elanga during a pre-season game between Newcastle United and Atletico Madrid.
Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images
Anthony Elanga was Newcastle’s first major signing for nearly two years. The winger joined from Nottingham Forest for a fee of £52million with £3million in add-ons, and has shown his quality during his first appearances in pre-season.
The 23-year-old is set to play a big part in Eddie Howe’s starting XIs next season after his arrival solved a major problem in that position. Jacob Murphy was excellent for Newcastle last season, but at 30, there were concerns over whether he could handle the strain of a busy fixture list.
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Elanga scored his first Newcastle goal against Arsenal late last month and has looked sharp throughout pre-season. While he could not find the net against Atletico, the Spanish media still highlighted him as Newcastle’s best player.
Europapress said that Elanga “stood out, running upfield in a duel with Matteo Ruggeri.”
Elsewhere, Larazon referred to Elanga as a “nightmare”, even though he did not score.
Anthony Elanga’s performance vs Atletico Madrid by the numbers
It was always going to be a tough game for Elanga, who had to work hard to break down Atletico’s low block. Newcastle are known strugglers against defensive sides, with their defence frequently being caught out on the counter-attack whenever they play against them.
Despite that, Newcastle put up a brave effort against a possible Champions League opponent next season. A trip to the Metropolitano could be on the cards for Howe’s side, who will play a mix of well-established and smaller sides in Europe.
Statistics vs Atletico Madrid Anthony Elanga
Minutes 90
Passes completed 23/27 (85%)
Ground duels won 7/10 (70%)
Successful crosses 0/5
Touches 46
Successful dribbles 4/4
Times fouled 3
Despite the defeat, Elanga was still able to put up good numbers in the game. The winger completed all of his dribbles and was accurate with his passing throughout.
Elanga is widely recognised as the Premier League’s fastest player. Fans will hope he can use that pace to his advantage next season.