Alan Shearer blown away by Newcastle United star v Crystal Palace - ‘best player on the park’
.jpg?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
Newcastle United latest news: Lewis Miley has continued to impress under Eddie Howe.
Alan Shearer has hailed Lewis Miley as the ‘best player on the park’ during Newcastle United’s win over Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.
The Magpies recorded back-to-back Premier League victories following a 2-0 win over the Eagles on Sunday after spending much of the game being frustrated by their visitors. It took until the 71st minute for them to break the deadlock as Bruno Guimaraes nodded past Dean Henderson.
They doubled that lead seven minutes later as Malick Thiaw prodded home from a corner to record a win that, in the end, was a fairly comfortable one. Whilst Guimaraes’ goal ensured that he, once again, stole all the headlines as he dragged his team to another three points, Miley was quietly impressing again - and breaking Premier League records at the same time.
Miley completed 59 of his 59 attempted passes on Sunday, the best 100% rate of any Premier League player this season and the best for Newcastle United in almost a decade. Despite playing in an unnatural right-back role with Tino Livramento back in the squad following his recent injury troubles, Miley yet again was outstanding and watched on as Livramento replaced Lewis Hall on the opposite side of defence during the second half.
Speaking about the teenager post-match, Howe was full of praise for Miley, stating: "He's been incredible since he came into the team.
“You wouldn't know it [isn't his natural position]. He's excelled in this position [at full-back]. He's doing a great job in the team.”
The Gazette has launched a new WhatsApp NUFC channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates directly to your phone. Simply click this link to join our NUFC WhatsApp channel.
Alan Shearer blown away by Lewis Miley performance v Crystal Palace
Howe was far from the only one to be impressed by Miley’s performance against Crystal Palace on Sunday, with Shearer quick to praise him on the Rest Is Football Podcast. Newcastle United’s all-time record goalscorer named four players who impressed him at St James’ Park, but gave special recognition to Miley’s work.
“I was at St James’ Park to watch Newcastle beat Palace,” Shearer said. “It wasn’t easy, they had to work really hard for it, but they were the better team and did deserve the three points.
“Joelinton, I thought, played a lot better. Bruno Guimaraes was very good. Malick Thiaw was excellent again.
“But the best player on the park by an absolute mile was young Lewis Miley in the right back position. Honestly, guys, he was absolutely fantastic.
“He never put a foot wrong. He was brilliant. I think he attempted 59 passes, of which every single one of them was successful. He was brilliant.”
Newcastle United have a very busy fixture schedule in January and will play eight more times before the month is over. The first of those games comes on Wednesday night when Leeds United travel to St James’ Park and Miley is likely to once again be handed an opportunity to impress.
FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Champions League games are also set to be played over the next few weeks and Miley, whilst not expected to play every minute of every game, will undoubtedly have a big role to play under Howe as he continues to impress and improve.