Malick Thiaw summed it all up for Newcastle United fans following their Champions League defeat to Marseille.
Newcastle United played reasonably well in the first half at the Stade Velodrome and led through Harvey Barnes, though they self-destructed after the break.
Nick Pope’s mistake allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to score his opening goal and the former Arsenal forward then bagged his brace not long after.
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Eddie Howe insisted there were positives to take from the performance, although the fact that Newcastle threw yet another lead away on the road cannot be ignored.
Indeed, the manner of Newcastle United’s 2-1 defeat to Marseille was so disappointing.
Context, however, is important and Thiaw summed it up perfectly.
Malick Thiaw’s message to Newcastle United fans after Marseille defeat
Taking to social media platform Instagram, Thiaw vowed: “Heads up, straight back to work.”
The fact is that Newcastle’s position in the Champions League is reasonably strong and they could have afforded a defeat.
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Clearly, losing like they did was hugely disappointing but Saturday’s trip to Everton is a much bigger game in the context of the season.
Newcastle do indeed have to get straight back to work. Losing to Marseille doesn’t put them in crisis but a defeat at Everton might move them closer towards one.
Such is their position in the Premier League table and their difficulties away from home, the trip to Merseyside was always going to be the biggest game of the week.
Malick Thiaw channeled his inner Newcastle United fan before Nick Pope’s mistake
Thiaw urged Pope to stay in goal against Marseille, though the goalkeeper was too far out to change course at the time.
Though Aubameyang still had an awful lot to do from that angle, the fact even Thiaw saw it coming made it all the more galling.
Every Newcastle fan watching on would have been saying the same thing as Thiaw. It makes Pope’s decision difficult to explain.
Clearly, Howe’s side should have reacted better to that initial setback but Pope’s mistake appeared to unnerve them.
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