Newcastle United finally secured their first win of Rafael Benitez’s managerial reign with a 3-0 victory over Swansea to hand themselves renewed hope in their battle for Premier League survival.
Sunderland’s 3-0 triumph over 17th placed Norwich earlier in the day ensured that the Canaries missed out on an opportunity to put significant daylight between themselves and the drop zone, and a buoyed Magpies’ side seized their chance to close the gap by turning in a much-improved display against Francesco Guidolin’s side to secure three invaluable points.
Benitez chose to wield the axe after last weekend’s dismal 3-1 defeat at Southampton; with Jonjo Shelvey, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Ayoze Perez all being pulled from the starting XI as well as the injured Daryl Janmaat and Steven Taylor. The resulting side was packed with experience, and the players’ maturity told as they turned in a committed and professional display to earn their first victory in eight games.
The timely result means that Newcastle now find themselves three points adrift of 17th placed Norwich with a game in hand and two points behind 18th placed Sunderland heading into Tuesday night’s seismic showdown with in form Manchester City.
Maybe we’re not dead and buried just yet!
Here’s how the Newcastle players rated as they toppled the Swans.