Matt Ritchie names the one Newcastle player who impressed him at Burnley

Matt Ritchie has praised his side's collective effort in securing a 2-1 win at Burnley - but heaped praise on an attacking colleague.
Matt Ritchie has heaped praise on a Newcastle teammateMatt Ritchie has heaped praise on a Newcastle teammate
Matt Ritchie has heaped praise on a Newcastle teammate

Ritchie - who said he was 'horrified' by his close-range miss during the clash at Turf Moor - believes Ayoze Perez deserves special praise for his performance in the win.

The Spaniard played a central attacking role just behind striker Salomon Rondon, but contributed to the Magpies' solid defensive line as they withstood pressure from the hosts in the second half.

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His work rate, too, proved impressive in what was arguably one of his best performances of the season.

And despite having come in for criticism from some sections of the supporter base this season, Ritchie felt the former Tenerife man deserved plenty of credit after his latest performance.

"Every player made a fantastic contribution," said Ritchie.

"I thought Ayoze was unbelievable defensively.

"As for me, in that position, I am comfortable going forward but defensively, not really used to that position.

"But Ayoze was fantastic, his work rate just sitting inside me was unbelievable.

"When I was one versus one, he was there but we all helped each other both on our side and the other.

"It's a tough tough league and we hard to work hard."