Eddie Howe so impressed as one Newcastle star did ‘very well’ off the ball vs Brighton

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Newcastle United’s defeat to Brighton on Saturday was hugely frustrating.

Indeed, Newcastle have played much worse this season and still won games. They, however, produced a pretty toothless attacking display and fell to their second Premier League loss of the season.

Still, as worrying as the lack of goals is, it’s not as if the performance was a total disaster.

Eddie Howe’s side, after all, managed 21 shots against one of the better teams the Premier League has to offer, six of which were on target.

They looked the better team for a lot of the contest and better finishing would have seen them claim what would have been a statement victory.

The fact they didn’t is obviously disappointing but it does perhaps point to an improvement. Even during some of Newcastle’s wins this season, they’ve not dominated as much as that.

Alexander Isak’s performance in front of goal left a lot to be desired of course but Howe was keen to praise the striker after the game.

Eddie Howe says Alexander Isak was so good off the ball against Brighton

Asked about his star forward and his lack of goals this season, Howe issued a reasonably stirring defence.

He told The Northern Echo: “I think there are reasons for that. Any kind of injury breaks momentum and I think to expect Alex to have been at his very best today…

“Of course, yes he trained in the build-up to the game, but he hadn’t had the depth of training he probably needs for full performance.

“But I thought a lot of his game was very good today. I have no major issue. I thought he played very well out of possession for us.”

Newcastle are dealing with a major issue this season

Upon the culmination of last season, Howe admitted Newcastle seriously needed to work on their defence, having conceded 62 times in comparison to the 33 they let in during the 2022/23 campaign.

Goals, however, weren’t a problem – with Newcastle beaten only by Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City on that front last time out.

However, the inverse is happening this season. Only Liverpool and Nottingham Forest have conceded fewer than Newcastle’s eight but just five teams – two of which are in the relegation zone – have scored fewer times (8).

Somehow or another, Newcastle need to start scoring goals again.