Lewis Miley was the talk of the Toon after Newcastle United’s 1-1 draw with Chelsea, but the return of Nick Pope was equally as impressive.
The 31-year-old was named on the bench for the Premier League Summer Series clash, and played the second half after replacing Martin Dubravka. While the Slovakian was not able to keep a clean sheet, Pope was – but he certainly had to work for it.
The England international made a string of sensational saves, one of which to deny Ben Chilwell late on was simply stunning.
Pope immediately showed why he is so important to Newcastle, and why it is excellent to have him back from injury.
This was his first appearance since the final home game of last season – the 0-0 draw with Leicester City that secured Champions League football. Pope was crucial on that night too, playing a key role in confirming a top four finish.
Immediately after that game, Pope underwent surgery for a recurring finger injury, meaning he missed the final game of the season away to Chelsea, as well as Newcastle’s first three pre-season fixtures.
But he is back now, and Eddie Howe was ‘delighted’ to call upon his first choice keeper once again.
Eddie Howe happy to have ‘big player’ Nick Pope back
Following the 1-1 draw with Chelsea, Howe spoke to NUFC TV. He was asked about Pope’s comeback from injury.
“It was [like he’d never been away],” he said.
“Back end of last season he missed the Chelsea game, knowing that he would have the operation on his finger. We knew it was serious enough that it needed to be operated on as quickly as possible.
“He’s been desperate to get back, but we’ve had to take our time with him.
“He performed really well in the second half, made a number of key saves. Delighted he’s back, he’s such a big player for us.”
In the middle of our goal
It really made such a difference having an elite goalkeeper in between the sticks in the second half on Wednesday night.
With Howe making limited substitutions, his side were tired and were forced to do a lot of defending by a much fresher Chelsea side. That led to the Blues creating some good openings, but Pope was equal to everything that came his way.
There was no rustiness from the former Burnley man, which was excellent to see ahead of the new Premier League season.
Newcastle have three friendlies left before the first game against Aston Villa, and Pope will be keen to get more minutes under his belt to ensure he is fully ready for August 12th.
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