Newcastle United summer signing Malick Thiaw had an eventful first start for the club.
Thiaw played well for Newcastle United against Bournemouth but even the most ardent Toon supporter would surely admit he was perhaps fortunate not to have been sent off.
Indeed, Thiaw controversially avoided a record for Newcastle against Bournemouth after fouling Ryan Christie shortly after he had been booked for a handball.
The former AC Milan defender came off shortly after that and while Eddie Howe said it was down to fatigue, Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola had other ideas and suggested his substitution was a direct response to the red card scare.
Still, Thiaw did impress and with Fabian Schar ruled out for the next few games with a head injury, he will no doubt be hoping to put a run in the team together ahead of another busy week of action.
Fellow new arrival Nick Woltemade seemed impressed.
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Nick Woltemade’s message to Malick Thiaw
After the game, Thiaw posted a collage of images from the game on social media platform Instagram.
He captioned a post: “Tough game but we take the point. Now focus on Wednesday, let’s go Geordies!”
Woltemade responded with “Ma guy.”
Among the others to respond were Sven Botman and Bruno Guimaraes, with the Newcastle captain writing: “Top performance bro.”
Nick Woltemade told Malick Thiaw he should have had a penalty against Bournemouth
The Thiaw incident wasn’t the only controversial one during Newcastle’s 0-0 draw with Bournemouth.
Indeed, Woltemade was denied a penalty against Bournemouth when he had his shirt pulled by Cherries defender Bafode Diakite.
Granted, the German probably went down a bit too easily but being awarded a penalty for that would not have been hugely controversial.
Speaking after the game (via The Northern Echo), Thiaw said: “In the game it’s always tough to see but Nick told me it was a foul so I believe him.”
Both things can be true at the same time. Newcastle should have had a penalty and Thiaw should have been sent off.
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