#2 What’s happened to Newcastle?
Another weekend, another loss for Newcastle United. Only 2 weeks ago, the Geordies were celebrating their 9th successive victory and were 5 points clear of second placed Brighton. Fast forward 12 days and the team that looked unbeatable were left licking their wounds after a second league loss on the run, this time away to Nottingham Forest.
It’s safe to say that luck was not with them. Having two men receiving red cards in the one match while also having what looked to have been a perfectly legitimate goal disallowed, would leave many a neutral feeling sorry for them. Particularly because both red cards have since been rescinded by the reviews panel.
However, Rafa Benitez remained a very calm figure and praised the side’s efforts:
"It's very difficult to understand what happened, we can complain about the penalty not given, the goal offside, the [Forest] penalty given and the two red cards.
"I haven't spoken to the referee, I don't need to do it, I've seen the images and it's obvious and clear to me.
"We did really well, we were doing what we had to do but it's a big difference when you have 45 minutes, numerical inferiority it's not easy."
Despite this setback, the Toon Army can still be optimistic, they sit 2 points ahead of Brighton on top of the table and six clear of 3rd place.
Their next 3 matches should give them the opportunity to pick up points once again. Matches against inconsistent Midlands team Birmingham City is up first, then they travel to Wigan who sit in the relegation zone, followed by a trip to Burton Albion who lie 19th in the league.
Can they turn their form back around in time for Christmas?
