Southampton’s run of three games without defeat came to an end with a 2-1 loss at St James’ Park.
This was despite Saints taking the lead and looking the better side for much of the match.
Nathan Redmond had the two best chances of the first-half but was denied on both occasions by Martin Dubravka, the first of which he’d have been very disappointed not to have scored with.
Saints took the lead early in the second-half when a long Jack Stephens ball was picked up by Danny Ings who controlled the ball and calmly finished.
The hosts levelled midway through the half through a great Andy Carroll cross that was headed home by Jonjo Shelvey.
Newcastle then took the lead late on when Sean Longstaff’s long range effort was parried by Alex McCarthy with Federico Fernández finishing the rebound.
This defeat leaves Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side in the relegation zone on goal difference after it looked like they may be moving out for much of the afternoon.
Here’s how we rated the Southampton players:
Alex McCarthy: 5
McCarthy will be disappointed with how the winner was scored. He should’ve done better with the initial shot by either holding it or pushing it away to safety and the side were punished.
Cedric Soares: 5
Cedric vs Allan Saint-Maximin was always going to be one of the battles of the match. On the whole, he dealt with his threat reasonably well but his rash high foot ultimately led to the Newcastle equaliser.
Jack Stephens: 6
Stephens provided the assist for the Saints goal and was the better of the two centre-backs today.
Jan Bednarek: 5
Most fingers will point at McCarthy for the winner, but Bednarek also played a role in the goal. He dropped further back than the rest of the defence which played Fernandez onside to allow the goal to stand.
Ryan Bertrand: 6
Not too much to report about Bertrand’s performance, he wasn’t brilliant at either ends but was also solid enough to limit Newcastle’s chances.
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg: 7
The midfield two largely had the better game over Newcastle’s midfield duo. Hojbjerg was very good at breaking up possession and winning the ball in high areas of the pitch.
James Ward-Prowse: 7
I thought Ward-Prowse had another decent outing in Newcastle and was one of the major threats going forward for Saints.
Moussa Djenepo: 4
This was probably one of Djenepo’s worst performances in a Saints shirt. He provided no real threat going forward and was ultimately brought off as a result.
Nathan Redmond: 7
Redmond had one of his best games for a while but would’ve been disappointed not to open the scoring. He missed two great chances but you can’t take away from his direct running and skill to cause problems for the opposition.
Shane Long: 6
Long was once again good at stretching the defence, but it was always going to be tough to get the same rewards against Newcastle’s back three.
Danny Ings: 7
Ings is in the form of his life. For the first time in his career, he’s now scored in five consecutive Premier League games with another composed finish. For the first time in a while, Saints have a regular goalscorer to rely on.
Sofiane Boufal (sub): 5
There was one moment when Boufal’s skill almost led to a Saints opening but overall he didn’t have much of an impact.