Jonjo Shelvey scored the pick of the bunch in the 4-0 win over Fulham.
The midfielder was picked out on the edge of the box from a corner, allowing Shelvey to take a touch and strike a volley into the top corner to give Newcastle the lead.
It was a brilliant goal, and Matt Ritchie has told Newcastle’s official website that it was actually rehearsed.
“We worked on it on Saturday in training,” Ritchie told nufc.co.uk.
“There was a lot of space on the edge of the box and we managed to exploit it. Everyone knows the quality Jonjo’s got, so it was good to see it come off.
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“We work on set-pieces a lot, and we haven’t really had that much success this season.”
Shelvey goal was worth the wait
Set piece routines often don’t work for Newcastle.
Even during the Alan Pardew era, we’d see corners clipped to the edge of the area, only for Fabricio Coloccini to narrowly miss. This was about as good as it got from corners when Pardew was in charge.
But since Rafa Benitez has been manager, our goal return from set pieces has improved. While they haven’t provided as many goals this season, Shelvey’s goal was certainly worth the wait.
It was a great strike, a timely reminder of the talent the 27-year-old has.
There are rumours that Shelvey could leave the club this summer, but his performance against Fulham reminded everyone that he can still play a huge role in black and white.
His passion is there for all to see. You could see it on his face as he celebrated his first goal of the season.