Hands up then, ahead of the 2022/23 campaign kicking off, who thought Newcastle United would the best defensive team in the league?
By Sam McGuire, Premier League expert
The Magpies conceded 62 last season and Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth side conceded over 60 goals in all of their seasons in the English top-flight, they even conceded 70 on one occasion. The Cherries were easy on the eye, often looking to play football ‘the right way’, but struggled defensively.
Many expected Newcastle to follow suit and it did seem to be the case at the very start of the Howe era at St James’ Park, with the Magpies conceding 19 goals in his first nine Premier League matches in charge.
Over the next 18 games, however, they allowed two or more goals in a single match on just two occasions. That form has carried over into this season. Newcastle have conceded just 11 times in 19 matches and have allowed two or more goals in just two matches – the 3-3 draw with Manchester City and the 2-1 loss to Liverpool.
The Magpies dipped into the transfer market this summer to bolster their defensive unit, adding Sven Botman and Nick Pope. Both have been key in taking the defensive numbers to the next level. Newcastle have kept a clean sheet in 11 of their 19 outings and are the only team to be in double digits for this particular metric this term.
They have already eclipsed their clean sheets total from last season (eight) and there is still half a season to be played.
Conceding just 0.6 goals per match, Howe’s side are comfortably the most resilient in the Premier League. Their underlying numbers are just as impressive, too. They rank third for Expected Goals Conceded (17.7) behind Arsenal (16.8) and Manchester City (14.1).
For added context here, last season Newcastle were averaging 1.6 goals against per match and ranked 15th for this matric. They ranked 12th for xG against (63.8).
Now, Howe has spent money in the transfer market but improvements have come on the training pitch, with the 45-year-old tweaking tactics to make his side much harder to break down. He has the Magpies defending from the front.
When looking at possessions won in the final third, Newcastle have risen from 18th to fourth in the Premier League. Last season, they averaged 3.9 per 90 and now this figure stands at 5.6.
Without the ball, they are ultra-aggressive against most opponents. They press as a unit and this allows them to dominate the space. We can see an example of this below in their recent match against Fulham.
Just after a minute of play, the hosts are defending a throw-in deep in their own half. Look how compact their defensive lines are. There is no space for the visitors to have proper possession in the final third and the ball is eventually cleared.
But look how Newcastle react, as a team, to this. Everyone steps up but they do so as a unit. There is barely any space between the midfield and the defensive lines and they are very narrow. They are acting as a screen between the opposition and the goalkeeper, Pope.
The opposition aren’t going to be able to play through them so are forced to attack via wide areas. This is Newcastle dictating where opponents can and cannot play. This is what all of the top defensive teams do.
By funnelling teams into wide areas, Newcastle are allowed to defend in a way that suits them. Crosses into the area cause very few problems when you have a 6ft5 goalkeeper and three of your regular back four – Botman, Fabian Schar and Dan Burn – are winning over 65% of their aerial duels.
What Howe has done over a 12 month period is a masterclass on how to set up a team to defend, dictate and dominate.
(Images from IMAGO)
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