Karl Darlow had more touches than Newcastle teammate Callum Wilson against Leeds

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Newcastle United rallied in the second half against Leeds UNited, but were still beaten at St. James’ Park.

The Magpies slipped to a 2-1 loss at the hands of the Whites, who have now done the double after the 5-2 win in December.

Newcastle produced an awful showing in the first half, heading in at half-time 1-0 down after Raphinha’s cool finish.

But there was some fight in the second half, with Miguel Almiron converting a nice move after the team had won the ball high up.

But Jack Harrison struck minutes later, and the visitors took all three points.

Unlike in recent weeks, there were a couple of positives to take.

Allan Saint-Maximin provided a real spark and seemed to improve the players around him, and the team need to take heart from that.

But one man who struggled was Callum Wilson, although it was not really his fault.

According to SofaScore, he had just 26 touches in the game. That was actually less than goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who had 29.

Wilson needs more involvement or trouble awaits

Wilson was a £20 million signing last summer (BBC Sport), and he has proven his credentials as a Premier League striker.

The star is a quality finisher, but he simply isn’t getting the service at the moment.

If Newcastle are to start winning games and picking up points, it is absolutely paramount that Wilson features more prominently.

The return of Saint-Maximin should help with that, and Almiron and Ryan Fraser also have the potential to be a greta supporting cast – they just need to look for him more often and arguably get closer to him.