Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka put in a commanding display against Burnley on Tuesday night, reminding his recent critics just how important he is to the squad.
The Slovakian international picked up yet another clean sheet for the season against The Clarets, his ninth in the league.
Dubravka now has more clean sheets than the consistently praised David De Gea, and only Alisson, Ederson and Kepa Arrizabalaga can boast more.
Yet all those keepers play for teams in the top six, highlighting how phenomenal Dubravka has been.
Critics of the shot stopper had been growing over the past month though thanks to consecutive mistakes against Tottenham and Wolves.
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His errors for late strikes by Heung-min Son and Willy Boly, cost the Toon vital points and supporters were beginning to get frustrated.
But against Burnley, he proved his doubters wrong in style.
Dubravka vs Burnley
The keeper controlled his box almost effortlessly on Tuesday, and took pressure off the toon, time and time again.
Burnley had been in frightening form of late, and had gone unbeaten since Boxing Day.
This was largely thanks to the presence of their large yet agile target men, Chris Woods and Ashley Barnes.
The pair had been on fire in recent weeks, but Dubravka played a key part in dousing out their flames.
The goalkeeper claimed countless long balls aimed into the box, and was similarly brilliant at claiming set plays.
It meant Burnley were rarely able to get a flick on, and that any pressure they might have started to build was quickly diffused.
And in the rare instances when Dubravka was called upon, he made sure he was not beaten.
He showed excellent concentration and reflexes to deny a back post volley from Chris Woods, and denied Burnley an equaliser.
The Slovakian also somehow managed to keep out a goalmouth scramble towards the end of the game.
The shot stopper denied Matej Vydra with a point blank save, and was rewarded with a richly deserved clean sheet.
Newcastle fans show their appreciation for Dubravka
The goalkeepers performance impressed Newcastle supporters, and many took to twitter to praise him:
https://twitter.com/CraigLarvin/status/1100510755277950976
It was also fantastic to hear the reception Dubravka got from the home fans against Burnley.
After a tough month, Newcastle supporters rallied together inside the stadium and chanted the keeper’s name loudly throughout the match.
It gave a message to the keeper that his critics are a minority, and not the majority.
Newcastle now face a tough away fixture against West Ham this weekend, but fans will be hopeful Dubravka can bag a third consecutive clean sheet.
