Newcastle United secured a crucial three points against Crystal Palace yesterday, and one player stood head and shoulders above the rest according to the fans.
It may have taken Newcastle 71 minutes to take a hold of the game, but they got there in the end. Ultimately, though it wasn’t a perfect performance, the win was the least the Magpies deserved.
Who was your MOTM against Crystal Palace?!
THREE CRUCIAL POINTS 😍
Yet another Bruno Guimaraes goal got things moving for Eddie Howe’s side before Malick Thiaw pounced on some poor Palace defending to double the lead and secure the points.
But, it’s not the goalscorers who were the stars of the show; at least, not according to the Geordie Boot Boys readers.
Lewis Miley dominates votes for Man of the Match vs Crystal Palace
We asked our readers and all the Magpies fans out there to name their Man of the Match from the game against Palace, and judging by the results on TalkingPoints it seems they agreed with our Newcastle United player ratings, with Lewis Miley the resounding winner of the poll.
At the time of writing, 634 votes were cast and Miley took 514 of them to assert a massive 79.94% advantage and take the crown.
Behind him, Bruno Guimaraes had 68 votes (10.58%) and Thiaw had 61 votes (9.49%), making Miley the clear winner.
Among the comments, Miley had fans drooling with his performance, with praise for his assist for the opening goal and his flawless general gameplay.
One wrote: “Miley is doing great. His assist for Bruno’s goal was the best thing he could have done getting the ball back across goal. Top player at a young age.”
Another said: “Hard to call as there were more than a few! I’d go with the heart and say Miley who did not make a single error.”
A third added, “Miley. Absolutely flawless from the lad,” and a fourth commented, “Miley was excellent as always.”
Indeed, Miley’s 100% pass success rate earned him a Premier League record for this season, and it makes him a deserving winner of our poll.
- READ MORE: Eddie Howe noticed one thing that negatively impacted Newcastle United in win over Crystal Palace
Where is Lewis Miley’s best position – RB or CM?!
The impossible question…
What should Eddie Howe do with Lewis Miley now?
Alan Shearer gushed about Miley after the game, too, hailing the way the youngster played at right-back. The same can be said for Sky Sports commentator Michael Bridges, who suggested Eddie Howe will be delighted with Miley’s displays while playing out of position.
It raises an interesting question for Howe and the Newcastle boss will have a nice headache to deal with. Does he keep Miley at right-back, or move him back into midfield now that Tino Livramento and Kieran Trippier are back from injury?
Howe insisted Miley is a midfielder, which is fair. We’re sure the player would rather be there, and we’d rather see him in his natural position. Still, it’s hard to consider changing this formula when Miley is thriving in his new role.
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