Allan Saint-Maximin has reacted on Twitter after Newcastle United beat Southampton 2-1 without him.
The Frenchman had returned to the squad against Brighton following an injury, and produced an exciting cameo off the bench. He constantly drove at the Seagulls defence and almost got on the scoresheet.
After his substitute appearance, it felt all but certain that he would start against Southampton. However, Eddie Howe then admitted in his pre-match press conference that Saint-Maximin wasn’t 100% fit.
In the end, he didn’t even make the bench. The 24-year-old missed the game completely due to illness.
It didn’t matter though, with Newcastle extending their unbeaten run in the Premier League to nine games. The Magpies are still 14th, but are now 10 points clear of the relegation zone.
Newcastle continue to thrive without Allan Saint-Maximin
It was worrying before kick off to see that Saint-Maximin wasn’t even on the bench. Those worries intensified when Eddie Howe’s side went behind.
But Newcastle rallied and came from a goal down to win 2-1 thanks to a header from Chris Wood and an audacious backheel volley from Bruno Guimaraes.
After the game, Saint-Maximin wrote on Twitter: “What a game.”
It certainly was an exciting game if you were a neutral, with play ebbing and flowing as each side had spells of dominance.
Southampton bossed the game late on, but it was Newcastle’s resolute defending that got them over the line. Martin Dubravka was particularly impressive, making a string of sensational saves to deny the Saints.
It’s encouraging to see Newcastle doing so well without Saint-Maximin. We are no longer reliant on him.
He’s only featured once in the last four games, coming off the bench in the 2-1 win over Brighton. But without him we’ve drawn with West Ham, then beaten Brentford and Southampton on the road.
In the past we couldn’t function without ASM. Everything went through him.
But we’re much more of a team now, no longer reliant on one individual’s obscene talents.
Saint-Maximin obviously makes us stronger, but it’s excellent to see us thriving without him. Newcastle are no longer a one man team – we are United.
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