The TEN winners and losers from Newcastle United's Spain trip

Who were the winners and losers from Rafa Benitez's mid-season trip to Spain?
Isaac Hayden in action in the FA Cup earlier this season.Isaac Hayden in action in the FA Cup earlier this season.
Isaac Hayden in action in the FA Cup earlier this season.

Here our writer Liam Kennedy takes a look at the individual performances of each of the 22 Magpies players who faced CSKA Moscow at the Pinatar Arena, Murcia, on Saturday.

WINNERS

Ayoze Perez impressed with a second half cameo in Spain.Ayoze Perez impressed with a second half cameo in Spain.
Ayoze Perez impressed with a second half cameo in Spain.

Karl Darlow

He may not have featured at all in the first-team plans this season under Rafa Benitez but Darlow really put his hands up with this performance.

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If there's one way to get noticed it's with some breathtaking stops - and the former United No 1 produced the goods. Rafa will definitely have been pleased with United's reserve keeper.

DeAndre Yedlin

Winger Matt Ritchie has looked at home as a left wing-back.Winger Matt Ritchie has looked at home as a left wing-back.
Winger Matt Ritchie has looked at home as a left wing-back.

Very impressive performance from the right-back, a far cry from the disappointment of his Molineux show.

It was clearly a tactic to get the full-back in the game as much as possible as Lejeune kept shifting play with raking balls out wide at every opportunity - and the American took his opportunity to get at the Russians down their left flank.

Salomon Rondon

Another goal and another game when you wonder why United did not just go out and spend the £16million to acquire the Venezuelan on a permanent deal from West Brom in the summer.

United top-scorer and No 9 Salomon Rondon.United top-scorer and No 9 Salomon Rondon.
United top-scorer and No 9 Salomon Rondon.
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A powerful, mobile centre forward who causes every defender he plays against problems. Another instinctive finish for his goal.

Matt Ritchie

This might have only been a friendly but the Scotland international played on the edge, as he always does.

Playing in a deeper role than he is used to Ritchie looked every bit at home defensively in the flat back four but also in an attacking sense he was United's main threat in the second 45, overlapping Christian Atsu at every opportunity.

Kenedy was very poor in Spain.Kenedy was very poor in Spain.
Kenedy was very poor in Spain.

Ayoze Perez

On this kind of showing it is hard to imagine a United team without Perez in it.

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The Spaniard always has the ability to ghost past a man with a clever flick or a change of direction and he caused CSKA all kind of problems breaking to support the front two from a defensive position on the right of a midfield four.

Isaac Hayden

The player has made absolutely no secret of his desire to leave United but he's shown absolutely no signs of chucking the towel in.

Maybe others could take a leaf out of the former Arsenal man's book.

While Benitez will be keen to get Almiron in his side and stick with Sean Longstaff, as well as potentially get Diame and Ki involved, it will be some call to take Hayden out for any of them on this form.

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LOSERS

Kenedy

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It may only have been a friendly but from minute one you could see the player's body language was not right.

From being such a key player at the back end of last season he's lost his way totally this.

Struggle to see how the player comes back from this slump - he certainly has no chance if his performances are anything like Saturday's.

Given a chance to show the manager he's worth a place in the side, did not seem to want to take it.

Yoshinori Muto

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Offered little to nothing different for United and on this showing it is difficult to see where the player fits in this side.

Runs about but with little to no end product or purpose.

Joselu

On two occasions Joselu had the chance to win it for United and while he did brilliantly for the first to round the keeper and see a goalbound effort blocked, the second was the one sticks in the memory the most as he weakly passed at goal when clean through.

Antonio Barreca

Took him around 20 minutes to get his first real touch of the ball and at times there seemed a reluctance to use the player out on the left.

Harsh mark but it is difficult to judge someone who had so little impact on the opening 45 minutes and was off at the break.