Newcastle United have advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals, but only just.
Eddie Howe’s side struggled at Ewood Park, with the Newcastle players failing to respond to their awful performance against Arsenal two days before.
This was billed as the Magpies’ biggest game of the season prior to kickoff, but they certainly did not perform like it.
In the end, Newcastle completed the project. They proceeded to the FA Cup’s following round, but needed a penalty shootout to defeat Championship club Blackburn Rovers.
Newcastle’s hero was Martin Dubravka, who returned after missing the Arsenal game due to sickness.
The 35-year-old bailed his teammates out, who continued their recent trend of below par performances.
Alan Shearer certainly was not impressed, and explained why he is so worried right now as a Newcastle United.
Alan Shearer is worried about Newcastle United
During BBC One’s coverage of Blackburn Rovers vs Newcastle United, Alan Shearer explained why he is so worried about the Magpies at the moment.
“What worries me about Newcastle is last year, time and time again, we saw them outrun teams, we saw them out-power teams,” he said.
“Yet for the last two or three months of this season, and certainly tonight, we haven’t seen anywhere near enough of that. They look really weak.
“The goal they gave away is typical of how they are playing and how they are giving goals away. I’m really worried being a Newcastle fan.”
Newcastle were poor despite their FA Cup win over Blackburn.
Eddie Howe has long stated that energy is crucial to Newcastle United’s identity, but this was not the case against Arsenal. It was not the case with Blackburn either.
The Magpies were extremely bad at Ewood Park, with Blackburn creating numerous chances. They might have been able to get through another night.
We continued our poor streak on defense. The goal we conceded was the result of an error by Jamaal Lascelles, who had replaced Sven Botman. The 24-year-old was resting and missed the FA Cup match.
But Howe fielded a very strong Newcastle team, which should have been far too excellent for Blackburn. However, they weren’t.
Instead, the Magpies were forced to rely on penalties.
While Howe will be pleased that his team has advanced to the next round, he will be dissatisfied with his players’ performance. They need to be told the truth in the coming days, because they are no longer recognizable as the team that performed so well last season.
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