Newcastle United have lost the Sela Cup for the first time following a 2-0 defeat to La Liga side Atletico Madrid at St James’ Park.
Following a bright 45 minutes for Newcastle United, there was a glimmer of hope that the Magpies may finally win in pre-season, but that has sadly not been the case.
Atletico Madrid broke the deadlock after 50 minutes thanks to a brutal counter-attack from a corner. Former Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez was able to finish from close range before Antoine Griezmann doubled their lead with a strike from inside the penalty area.
The defeat means that Newcastle enter the 2025/26 season without a win since May, and without the top striker Alexander Isak, who is pushing to leave the club this summer.
Here’s how the players rated in the second half.
- Newcastle United pre-season tour 2025: Destination, fixtures, tickets, how to watch and more as Toon face Arsenal
Nick Pope – 4
Could do very little with the first goal, but should have done much better for the second. It begs the question of who will start in goal against Aston Villa, Nick Pope or Aaron Ramsdale?
Again, his distribution and work with the ball was poor.
Kieran Trippier – 5
The game would have been an emotional one for Kieran Trippier, who played against his former club for the first time since leaving in 2022. His performance in the second half left a lot to be desired.
Trippier appeared to struggle with Atletico’s counter-attacking football and was left behind on the right-hand side. The 34-year-old will likely be replaced by Livramento against Aston Villa next weekend.
Jamaal Lascelles – 5
Another player whose future at Newcastle is under speculation. Jamaal Lascelles struggled to keep up with Atletico’s counter-attacking football.
The 31-year-old will likely fall further down the pecking order now that Malick Thiaw is set to sign for Newcastle.
Alex Murphy – 5
The only half-time introduction was 20-year-old Alex Murphy coming on for Sven Botman. The Irishman got a rare chance at centre-back but was nowhere to be seen for Alvarez’s goal.
Murphy left Newcastle on loan last season to get more prepared for Premier League football, but he still appears to have some way to go before he becomes a regular starter.
The two goals came from his side, with the defender a ghost throughout.
Tino Livramento – 5.5
Played as a left-back in the game, with Trippier taking up the right-back slot. Tino Livramento’s performance was rather Jekyll and Hyde.
At times, the 22-year-old would look brilliant on the ball and keep the Atletico attackers at bay, but at other times, his decision-making left a lot to be desired.
- Who is Tino Livramento? All you need to know about Newcastle United’s flying full-back
Harrison Ashby – 6
A bright first half from Harrison Ashby, but was taken off around 15 minutes into the second. He did not make much of an impact for the short time he was on the pitch in the second period.
Sandro Tonali – 6.5
One of the brighter performances during the second half, Sandro Tonali took his fair share of knocks from Atletico, who struggled to keep up with his technical ability.
The Italian will be keen to link back up with Bruno Guimaraes, who played on Friday.
Joelinton – 5
The Brazilian put in a spirited performance in the first half, but was unable to take it into the second 45. Joelinton went missing like many others throughout the game, barely getting a touch on the ball even when Atletico had their backs to the wall.
Anthony Elanga – 6
Anthony Elanga’s bursts of pace were a bright spark throughout the game, but he was unable to make anything happen down the right-hand side.
Anthony Gordon – 6
Played as a striker in the absence of Isak and caused problems for the Atletico backline throughout.
Anthony Gordon spent a lot of the second half drawing fouls and giving Newcastle a glimmer of hope that they could come back from behind. However, he was never given a good enough sight of goal.
Came off after around 84 minutes after pulling up, a concern for Howe.
Harvey Barnes – 6
Harvey Barnes was able to give Atletico some worry with his dangerous runs, though, like others, he could not break down the low block Atletico played so well.
Substitutes
Alfie Harrison – 5.5
Came on at the same time as Atletico decided to make 11 changes. It is admittedly a surprise to see the attacking midfielder in action following his appearance against Espanyol on Friday evening.
Sadly, he was not able to make the impact he would have liked.
Sean Neave – N/A
Came on for the injured Anthony Gordon.
Leo Shahar – N/A
Came on for Kieran Trippier with a few minutes to go.
Receive a digest of our best Newcastle content each week direct to your mailbox
