Newcastle United claimed all three points and climbed up to 12th in the Premier League standings with an emphatic 3-1 victory over Southampton at St. James’ Park on Saturday, as Ayoze Perez scored his first ever hat-trick for the Magpies.
Perez once again proved why he has been the best signing of the Mike Ashley era at Tyneside with another superb display in front of goal, becoming the first Newcastle player to score a hat-trick since Geroginio Wijnaldum in 2015. The Spaniard hit the double figure mark in the Premier League for the first time, his personal best since his move to the north-east of England back in 2014.
High on confidence after that 1-0 victory over Leicester City last week, Newcastle started the game on a positive note and stamped their authority over the visitors. Southampton were rampant in the 3-1 victory over Wolves last week but the Saints had absolutely no answer to Newcastle’s dominance in the first half.
Hasenhuttl’s side were clearly the second-best in all areas of the pitch in the first forty-five minutes as Newcastle continued to throw caution to the winds. Perez opened the scoring with a clinical finish from a tight angle in the 27th minute before Salomon Rondon set him up for the second goal.
Rondon whipped in just the perfect cross from the left to find the run of Perez, who got in front of Ryan Bertrand to make it 2-0. It could have been worse for Southampton had the referee sent James Ward-Prowse off for a foul on Miguel Almiron, as the Englishman apparently made an attempt to stop a dangerous-looking Newcastle counter-attack.
2-0 down and away from home, Southampton needed something extraordinary to get themselves back into the game and Hasenhuttl brought on the likes of Mario Lemina and Stuart Armstrong to turn things around. The Saints, indeed, came out in the second half with a point to prove and put more pressure on the home side with some relentless attacking play.
Ki-sung Yueng’s long-range effort cannoned back off the post early in the second half but it was the visitors who reaped just rewards for their sustained pressure. Nathan Redmond passed it on to Mario Lemina, who found the net with the neat bottom-corner finish to pull one back for Saints.
Isaac Hayden, who had a wonderful first half, drew a brilliant save from Angus Gunn with a perfectly struck volley from outside the box. However, Southampton had a wonderful chance to draw level soon after and the Saints would have been right back in the game had Maya Yoshida managed to keep his effort on target.
Southampton continued to pile on the pressure but they just snapped at their chances and weren’t clinical enough on the day, while Newcastle deserve all the credit for holding their own at the back. Rondon had his header cleared off the line by Ward-Prowse but it was Perez who capped off a well-deserved win with his third goal in the 86th minute.
To Read More Newcastle United News, Click Here:- Latest Newcastle United News
Rafael Benitez showed plenty of enthusiasm in his technical area and guided his team to their 11th victory of the season. No wonder the fans at Tyneside were signing their manager’s praises.
Twitter Reactions from Newcastle fans
What an incredible match for Ayoze Perez! He was unstoppable 💪💪 #NEWSOU #PL
— Paulo Cenicante (@cenicante) April 20, 2019
What a guy @AyozePG congrats on your first hat trick for us thoroughly deserved. ⚫️⚪️⚫️⚪️⚫️ join a list of greats achieving that at SJP. Wor @alanshearer will be as buzzing as the rest of us #toontoonblackandwhitearmy #NEWSOU
— Sara Colclough (@SaraColclough) April 20, 2019
#wardprowse with the most cynical foul this season and only a yellow, booooom #NEWSOU #coyr #saintsfc #southampton pic.twitter.com/MMqZLLPFK0
— Vegan Skinhead Ⓥ (@VeganSkinhead) April 20, 2019
That game was ABSOLUTELY HUGE so proud to be a Geordie tonight in Rafa we trust #NEWSOU
— Sean White (43313) (@seanwhite89) April 20, 2019
#NEWSOU The universe is big. It’s vast and complicated and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call him Rafa the gaffer
— Henry wellington (@NomenChanX) April 20, 2019
#NEWSOU Newcastle 3-1 Southampton
Very, very good game. Wouldn’t have minded if had gone on into the hot Easter night.
— Henry Wellington (@NomenChanX) April 20, 2019
Very impressive again @AyozePG 🙋🏼♂️🙋🏼♂️🙋🏼♂️ @premierleague team of the week for you! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 #NEWSOU— Alan Shearer (@alanshearer) April 20, 2019