It was a night to forget for Newcastle United as they suffered defeat to West Ham at St James’ Park.
Newcastle United entered Monday night’s Premier League clash as favourites after entering the November international break on the back of three consecutive wins.
In contrast, West Ham have struggled this season and their manager Julen Lopetegui was under huge pressure ahead of their trip up north.
Newcastle boast an incredible record against West Ham, but it turned into a frustrating night for the Magpies with Tomas Soucek opening the scoring against the run of play before Aaron Wan-Bissaka added to their lead after the break.
Here are the player ratings from the 2-0 defeat…
Nick Pope – 4
Let down by his defenders for West Ham’s opener but should have done better for the second. Collected a handful of crosses to nullify the threat out wide but will be very disappointed to have conceded twice.
Tino Livramento – 6
A solid display. High on confidence from his England debut, Livramento linked up well down the right and did well to keep Crysencio Summerville quiet with a number of well-timed tackles.
Didn’t offer as much going forward as he has in previous weeks.Fabian Schar – 4
Given a tough time by the very physical Michail Antonio. Schar didn’t make any glaring mistakes but he struggled to stamp his authority at the back.
Lloyd Kelly – 3
Completely lost track of Tomas Soucek for the opener, missed a big chance to redeem himself from a corner and then didn’t close down Aaron Wan-Bissaka quickly enough for West Ham’s second. Did make an important tackle in the second half but overall had a night to forget.
Kelly had a chance to save Newcastle millions, but his performance suggests a new centre-back is desperately needed in January.
Lewis Hall – 7
Newcastle United’s best player on the night. Played a pinpoint pass through to Isak early on but his strike was chalked off as offside. As he has done the entire season, Hall charged forward into space from left-back and caused West Ham plenty of issues.He carried out his defensive duties brilliantly by keeping the dangerous Jarrod Bowen quiet and even stepped into a midfield role late on.
Sean Longstaff – 4
Has been the glue in Newcastle’s midfield trio in recent weeks but he failed to have the same impact against the Hammers. Longstaff lost the ball in some dangerous areas and offered very little going forward before being replaced by Tonali just before the hour mark.
Bruno Guimaraes – 6
In a very disjointed Newcastle midfield, Guimaraes stood out. The skipper covered every blade of grass and put in some crunching tackles. Unlucky not to pick up a wonderful assist after floating a perfect ball to Isak.
Joe Willock – 5
Repeatedly joined attacks and burst into the box with late runs but was never found by his teammates. After an injury scare in the first half he was replaced by Barnes.Anthony Gordon – 3
A frustrating performance. Gordon just can’t quite get things right in a Newcastle shirt this season. Showed signs of promise but crucially lacked a final product. Really should have scored in the first half but fired his effort straight at the goalkeeper.
Supporters at St James’ Park were growing impatient with Gordon before he was eventually replaced late on.
Joelinton – 5
Started on the wing and was linking up well with Livramento but forced back into midfield in the second half where he was less effective.
Alexander Isak – 5
Walked onto the pitch to a wonderful display by the Newcastle fans and it looked as though Isak treated them to an early goal before it was chalked off as offside. He then fluffed a huge chance just before half-time that he really should have scored.