da premier bet： Christian Atsu was a rare bright spark for Newcastle United as they went on to draw against Rochdale in the FA Cup.
On the chalkboard
da dobrowin： Steve Bruce’s side will surely be disappointed to walk away from Spotland Stadium needing a replay to potentially get through to the next round.
That point is only strengthened by the fact the manager put out what was arguably his strongest possible lineup, considering the injuries being suffered within the squad.
There will be various players that Bruce and the fans will be disappointed with following their performances in the match.
However, Christian Atsu cannot be one of those, as he was a rare sign of the superior quality Premier League players should have in ties such as this.
Watch Newcastle United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
Dangerous play
It says a lot about just how dangerous the 27-year-old was, especially towards the beginning of the game, that Rochdale right-back Tyler Magloire was taken off after just 30 minutes despite there being no sign of injury.
Atsu – valued at £5.4m by Transfermarkt – caused the defender plenty of problems before that, most notably for Newcastle’s only goal of the game, as his skill got him through a tight gap before he got the ball to Miguel Almiron who did the rest.
It’s the dawn of a new decade in the Premier League, but how much do you know about the last 10 years?
The statistics also offer insight into just how dangerous he was throughout, as the Ghana international made a total of 10 dribbles, impressively completing every one of them, per Whoscored.
In addition to that, he had a pass success rate of 89% and managed to produce four key passes throughout the day’s proceedings, showing that there was quality in his delivery of the ball as well as his running with it at his feet.
Being a winger operating at left-wing-back, there was some defensive fragility, as he got away with a mishap towards the end of the game when Oliver Rathbone missed the target after he had been dispossessed.
However, Atsu definitely offered a reminder of how useful he can be in the attacking phase.
In other news, Newcastle have been offered the chance to sign 31-year-old striker.