Sports
Eddie Howe Made Error Starting Anthony Elanga in Sunderland vs Newcastle
Newcastle United‘s first Tyne-Wear derby in nine years did not go to plan as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Sunderland at the Stadium Of Light.
The atmosphere was electric on Wearside and Regis Le Bris’ side got their rewards for a battling display thanks to an own goal from Nick Woltemade.
While the German striker was responsible for the costly goal, he certainly wasn’t the only member of Eddie Howe’s side who failed to perform against their fierce rivals. In fact, one player was described as being fortunate to have been involved at all.
Anthony Elanga Endures Nightmare Wear-Tyne Derby
One of Eddie Howe’s biggest decisions pre-match was the call to name Anthony Elanga in the starting XI at the Stadium Of Light, He was selected ahead of both Harvey Barnes and Jacob Murphy, both of whom had arguably deserved their places following their performances against Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League.
For Elanga, it was a nightmare afternoon in which he completed just 68% of his passes, while having no shots, no successful dribbles and no successful crosses. In six attempts, he also failed to win a single duel — aerial or ground — before being hooked after 59 minutes.
Newcastle World reporter Charlie Bennett summed up his performance, saying: “I don’t think Anthony Elanga realises Newcastle are playing in blue instead of stripes today.”
Meanwhile, Liam Kennedy, also of Newcastle World, said: “Anthony Elanga was a very lucky boy to be selected for NUFC today, he proved most regular watchers right with that performance.”
Elanga Yet To Impress Since Big-Money Newcastle Move
Since signing from Nottingham Forest for £55million over the summer, Newcastle have been waiting for the moment when Elanga would burst into life. After being named in the side to face Sunderland, many hoped that it would be at the Stadium Of Light but that wasn’t meant to be.
While his pace looked like a dangerous outlet early on, Elanga’s lack of quality did not help Newcastle one bit during that poor derby day defeat.
As a player who cost a significant amount of money and has a wealth of Premier League experience, supporters are right to demand better from the player. This was the perfect opportunity to finally announce himself among the Newcastle fans, but instead the afternoon will be remembered for another incredibly poor performance from the ex-Man United starlet.
Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle: Premier League Player Ratings and Match Highlights
Sunderland defeated Newcastle United 1-0 in the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday afternoon.
