National media deliver interesting verdict on Kieran Trippier’s performance at left-back last night

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Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier played in an unfamiliar position during England’s 3-1 win against Scotland on Tuesday night.

The 32-year-old started for the Three Lions at Hampden Park, winning his 43rd cap for his country. However, the Newcastle man was not deployed at right-back like he usually is at St James’ Park.

Instead, Gareth Southgate decided to use Trippier on the left of defence, with Kyle Walker operating on the right after his goal against Ukraine.

It is a position that Trippier has played in before for England, but not on too many occasions, and it allowed the £12million to show off his versatility ahead of a busy run of games at club level.

Newcastle are now set to play twice a week most weeks between now and the next international break, meaning Eddie Howe‘s squad is going to be stretched to the limit.

That will likely force Howe to rotate his team, and he will have been very interested by Trippier’s performance at left-back as he ponders how to keep his side fresh during the relentless autumn schedule.

National media react to Kieran Trippier’s performance at left-back

While Howe will make his own mind up about how Trippier did at left-back, the national media have delivered an interesting verdict on his performance against Scotland. He played the full 90 minutes during the 3-1 friendly victory.

The Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, who also reports on Newcastle, was impressed with how Trippier did against Scotland. He gave the Toon defender a 7/10, calling him ‘reliable‘ out of position.

Sky Sports delivered a similar verdict, describing Trippier as ‘solid‘ and also giving him a 7. However, they did add that his position limited his ability to get forward.

That view was shared by the Independent, who stated that Trippier ensured England were ‘balanced‘, even if he is more impactful on the opposite side of the pitch.

Elsewhere, The Telegraph described him as ‘tidy on the ball‘, but thought his performance was only worthy of a 6/10. However, he certainly held his own and proved he is capable.

Trippier’s performance was certainly not groundbreaking, but it was solid. He held his own on the left of defence, which will have delighted Newcastle boss Howe.

While he will want to keep Trippier at right-back, he at least knows he can move him to the left and ensure his side remains balanced. That could be an option if Howe is keen to get Tino Livramento in his starting lineup in the near future.