Newcastle’s first of two pre-season friendly matches at St James’ Park this weekend saw Eddie Howe’s side line-up with a full home debuts handed to Sandro Tonali as well as youngsters Lewis Miley and Alex Murphy.
Newcastle opened the scoring in the first half after Miguel Almiron latched onto a bursting run from Alexander Isak and calmly applied the finish. It’s the Paraguayan’s third goal of pre-season.
Isak then made it 2-0 in the closing stages as he headed the ball in from Kieran Trippier’s corner. The win takes United top of the Sela Cup table after the first round of matches with five points.
With two games on consecutive days, the majority of the players were able to get a full 90 minutes under their belt ahead of the competitive season getting under way next weekend.
Here are the Newcastle United player ratings from the match...
1. Martin Dubravka - 6
Made one simple save late in the first half as well as a couple of claims from crosses.
2. Kieran Trippier - 7
Looked calm at the back but almost caught Martin Dubravka out with a misplaced back pass. Was dominant in the air and posed an attacking threat down the right. Set up the second goal with a good delivery from a corner.
3. Sven Botman - 6
Wasn’t troubled at the back as Newcastle kept their first clean sheet of pre-season.
4. Alex Murphy - 7
Really comfortable at the back and won some important headers as Fiorentina pushed forward.