Newcastle United took me closer to football heaven than… | OneFootball

For 30 minutes on Monday night, Newcastle United took me closer to football heaven than I have been since first walking into the Leazes End more than 50 years ago.

One up in four minutes, two up in 20, running rings around one of the biggest clubs in the world.

We ripped their right flank to shreds, we dominated midfield, we gave them no rest on their left.

Our all-round game, until Ruben Amorim belatedly brought on Kobbie Mainoo, reminded me of the first half in the San Siro 22 seasons ago, when we outplayed another of the world’s biggest clubs. That night we led Internazionale by only one goal at the interval and left with a 2-2 draw, after Gary Speed headed narrowly wide of the back stick in the closing minutes.

On Monday night, Newcastle United should have scored four, long before the generous hosts mounted any sort of threat.

The media minions are waxing lyrical on the subject of Alexander Isak, quite rightly, but he is still missing some gilt-edged openings. Our super Swede is as cool in front of goal as any striker I have had the pleasure to watch. He could, however, make a new year resolution to cut out the chips. Two or three chances have gone begging this month alone when he has tried and failed to lift the ball deftly over the keeper. Just give it a bit more welly, man, like you did for the belter disallowed because of offside.

If you think I’m being churlish, note what Eddie Howe said after the game. “Even at 2-0, you need the third goal . . . and we didn’t get it. We had chances to grab it and then that second half is on a knife-edge.”

Jim Ratcliffe’s latest vanity project improved markedly once their Z-list alleged striker (who cost £36.5m only five months ago) was replaced. The Salfords should have scored before the interval through the lumbering Casemiro (£60m plus £10m add-ons in 2022) and the eager but half-baked Rasmus Hojlund (£64m plus £8m in add-ons 17 months ago).

Our own, our very own Sandro Tonali, hit the post from close range at the end of a dazzling move that showcased all the qualities of Howe’s free-flowing football. Harry Maguire hit the same goal frame with a second-half header.

In the end, it mattered not. Two-nil to the Toon was all that counted.

We played within ourselves for much of the second half, put in an excellent defensive display when it was needed and extended the recent trend of redressing the balance against the club formerly known as Newton Heath.

The hurt is still there. They’ve done the treble against us over the past 30 years: Premier League in 1996, FA Cup final in 1999, League Cup final in 2022. I’ll remember the last Premier League match of 2024 for a long, long time.