Newcastle United failed to beat their local rivals for the 11th successive time as they were beaten 2-1 by Sunderland at St. James' Park on Sunday.
The Magpies had the perfect chance to finally seal a win over their rivals when Luke O'Nien's poor clearance allowed Anthony Gordon to put the hosts in front.
Nick Woltemade, who started in the number ten position, did brilliantly to tee up the winger with a deft touch, allowing the England international to run into the box and find the bottom corner.
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Unfortunately, second-half goals from Chemsdine Talbi and Brian Brobbey sealed the win for the away side, as Newcastle failed to deal with the threat that Regis Le Bris' team came to Tyneside with.
Both goals were relatively scrappy in nature, with Talbi and Brobbey both scoring on the follow-up from rebounds and saves, showing more desire to get to the ball before their Newcastle counterparts.
How Newcastle United lost to Sunderland
The Black Cats deserved to come away with St. James' Park with all three points because they were the team that played with intensity and creativity, showing a constant will to make things happen through effort and quality.
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At the end of the match, Sunderland had three 'big chances' to Newcastle's one and 2.45 xG to Newcastle's 1.27, showing that they were far more effective at breaking down Eddie Howe's team.
Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga started as the club's two wide players and ended the game with one key pass and zero shots on target between them, which is why the Magpies needed an error from O'Nien to create their only 'big chance' of the match for Gordon.
Newcastle's build-up, whether by design or down to players not performing, looked too chaotic throughout the game. Instead of building up in patterns to create rehearsed patterns, it felt like individuals had to step up on their own, and they did not.
Barnes and Elanga failed to provide the individual quality that was needed to spark Newcastle into life as an attacking force, and that ultimately played a key role in their failure to get any points from the game.
The Newcastle flop who was even worse than Elanga
Whilst Elanga, who joined from Nottingham Forest for £55m last summer, did not offer enough on the ball at the top end of the pitch, there was a player who came off the bench and was even worse for the Magpies.
elanga-newcastle-sunderland-premier-league
Joe Willock came on to replace Woltemade in the 65th minute, at the same time that Elanga was replaced by Jacob Murphy, and he produced a dismal cameo against the Black Cats.
The long-serving Newcastle attacking midfielder gave the ball away in the build-up to Brobbey's winner with a poor pass right across the middle of the pitch and straight back to Sunderland, who pounced and scored from that attack.
Willock was brought onto the pitch to find a winner for the home side. Instead, he registered no shots on target, 0.01 xA, failed with his only attempted crosses, and gave the ball away for the winning goal.
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Given the lack of attacking contributions and the error for Brobbey's goal, it is hard to rate him any higher than a 3/10 for his performance, whilst Barnes and Elanga put in 5/10 performances at best due to their lack of impact at the top end of the pitch.
Given this latest display, Willock must now never start another game for Howe before being sold in the summer transfer window, as his showings across the campaign have not been up to scratch.
25/26 Premier League Joe Willock
Appearances 20
Starts 7
Goals 0
Key passes per game 0.5
Assists 1
Dribbled past 14x
Ground duel success rate 40%
Aerial duel success rate 47%
The English midfielder has not been an effective performer on or off the ball in the Premier League for the Magpies this season, failing to offer a consistent threat in possession or a physical presence defensively.
He has been a lightweight in the top-flight, losing the majority of his duels on the deck and in the air, and does not have a return of goals and assists to make up for it.
Joe-Willock-Newcastle
Fulham were reportedly interested in a deal for Willock in the January transfer window, which suggests that there would be interest in him if the Magpies decided to cash in during the summer window.
With this in mind, Howe should finally cash in on the midfield flop in the summer to make room for a new arrival in midfield, as the former Arsenal talent has not delivered enough quality on or off the ball to suggest that he will be a key player in the 2026/27 campaign.
Bruno-Guimaraes-Newcastle Related
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The Newcastle star is a top summer target.
In the mean time, Willock should not start another game between now and the end of the season because of his struggles on the pitch for the Magpies.