Callum Roberts reveals what Rafa Benitez told him to do before Newcastle United's FA Cup win

Callum Roberts told of his "perfect" night after helping Newcastle United book a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Callum Roberts.Callum Roberts.
Callum Roberts.

Roberts netted in last night's 4-2 win over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.

The 21-year-old had been handed his full debut four years ago making his first senior appearance for the club.

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Roberts and Sean Longstaff put Newcastle into a 2-0 lead, but Blackburn fought back and took the game into extra time, Joselu and Ayoze Perez found the net.

"It couldn't get any more perfect than that," said Roberts. "Obviously, we wanted a clean sheet, but we'll settle for 4-2 in the end. A perfect night.

"I was buzzing (to make my full debut). I just had to keep calm and not think about it too much. I thought I did well.

"We were all buzzing for Sean to get his first goal as well. I thought that calmed us all down a bit. I thought we controlled the game."

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Roberts side-footed the ball past David Raya after Jacob Murphy crossed from the right.

The winger had been following Rafa Benitez's instructions to make runs to the near post.

"The gaffer just said I needed to make front-post runs, and I did that when I saw Jacob look up," said Roberts. "It came off perfectly.

"It was amazing. I can't put it into words. It was surreal.

"It was great to be back involved, and even better to score."

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Asked if he was hopeful of more opportunities, Roberts said: "Hopefully. Obviously, that's the dream – to play in the senior squad every week. It's up to the manager now."

"It gives you self assurance that you can do it. People might doubt yourself, but playing and scoring a goal, it assures me that I can play at this level."