It was a frustrating international break for Sven Botman, but he returned to Newcastle United with a wonderous performance on Sunday.
Botman was selected to start at centre-back against Manchester United, having recovered from a bout of food poisoning.
The 23-year-old suffered a virus during the international break, when he was hoping to make his Netherlands debut. But illness ensured that did not happen, and it left Newcastle fans sweating on his fitness.
He returned to training last week, and was fit enough to play the entire 90 minutes at st James’ Park on Sunday. And what a performance it was from the giant Dutchman.
Alan Shearer hails ‘magnificent’ Sven Botman
Botman helped Newcastle keep yet another clean sheet, as they beat Manchester United 2-0 to move above them and back into the top four.
The £35million signing did not look like a player who had been suffering from illness in the buildup, and Toon legend Alan Shearer was majorly impressed with how Botman played.
“Sven Botman was magnificent too, whenever United did get through, with a couple of last-ditch tackles,” he wrote in his latest BBC Sport column.
Shearer also praised Kieran Trippier for nullifying Marcus Rashford, who had no impact on the game at St James’ Park.
Brilliant Botman
Man United barely had a sniff of goal on Sunday, and that was largely down to the efforts of Botman.
He defended on the front foot, producing a dominant display up against Wout Weghorst and then Anthony Martial. The Red Devils tried to play the ball into their striker, but time and time again Botman was there to step in front and intercept.
The defender was excellent as Shearer says, and deserves a slice of the credit for Newcastle’s opening goal. Plenty of players were involved, but it was Botman who really kicked the move off.
Eddie Howe’s side had Man United penned it, who looked to get it up to Martial and relieve the pressure. A pass was fizzed into the Frenchman, but there was Botman snapping in to win back possession for Newcastle.
From there, it eventually led to Joe Willock scoring the opener. It was a pivotal goal, and one that might not have been possible had it not been for Botman’s brilliant defending.
Shearer is right – he truly was magnificent against Manchester United.
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