Eddie Howe’s side appeared to save their best pre-season performance until last as Newcastle United smashed Villarreal 4-0 to lift the prestigious Sela Cup.
Newcastle have kicked off an exciting season with some silverware, and look to be in fine form heading into next weekend’s Premier League opener versus Aston Villa.
Howe named a completely different starting XI to the one that played 24 hours earlier against Fiorentina, but the changes did not lead to a dip in performance levels.
One man was asked to play out of position, however, with Jacob Murphy operating at right-back. That was because Javi Manquillo is not fit and Tino Livramento has seemingly not signed on the dotted line as of yet.
That forced Murphy to play in defence, but he was still massively influential throughout the game. He kicked off the scoring with a thunderous effort in the sixth minute.
It was an exceptional performance from the 28-year-old, despite being asked to play out of position.
Eddie Howe delighted with ‘very good’ Jacob Murphy
After the game, Howe spoke to NUFC TV. He was full of praise for Murphy, with the Toon boss delighted at how well he adapted to playing in an ‘unfamiliar position’.
“It was a fantastic finish by Jacob, who I thought played really well today in an unfamiliar position,” he said.
Howe added: “Very good [performance]. Slightly out of position but you wouldn’t know it from his performance. Jacob is a player who always displays the right attitude and commits to every performance.
Outstanding from Newcastle winger
With Livramento set to sign, this will probably be the last time we see Murphy play right-back. But what a good job he did.
He was massively influential despite being out of position, and played with real confidence to dovetail brilliantly with Matt Ritchie.
It was an exciting performance from Murphy, who may have put himself in contention to start next weekend against Aston Villa. He looked really dangerous in the final third, causing Villarreal endless problems with his speed and movement.
With the emergence of Anthony Gordon and the arrival of Harvey Barnes, it has been easy to forget about a player like Murphy this summer.
But Howe is clearly a huge fan, and the boyhood Toon fan is once again going to play a key role during what will hopefully be another enthralling season on Tyneside.
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