Europa League: What Newcastle United Must do to Advance
Newcastle forward Papiss Cisse celebrates his winning goal with Moussa Sissoko and Adam Campbell (Google Creative Commons)
Last Thursday, Newcastle United suffered an unfortunate 3-1 loss in the first leg of the Europa League quarterfinals. Newcastle United started out really well when Papiss Cisse scored in the twelfth minute. However, Benfica responded quickly, scoring in the 25th minute. After halftime, Lima and Cardozo of Benfica scored within 10 minutes of each other to put the game away.
This was a very disappointing effort by Newcastle and the two goal deficit will be very difficult to overcome. Alan Pardew, Newcastle United manager, is not particularly worried about the deficit though. He believes that if his team can be patient, it has a good chance of success.
“Our fans need to understand that if we go gung-ho looking for two quick goals, we’re going to get killed. Benfica have real quality on the break. We’ve got to be very intelligent and we must be patient.”
Patience is an absolute must for The Toon as Benfica has shown their speed and their ability to finish. This is a really smart move by Pardew and his coaching staff because teams that have come out firing in an elimination game have historically gotten beat.
The other key to this game is Papiss Cisse. Cisse has had an excellent season for The Toon and has proved to be a clutch goal scorer. The Senegalese striker was able to put Fulham away after an incredible volley in stoppage time. Cisse is confident in his team’s ability and believes that simple play will be the key to victory:
“We just want to go out there and play. I hope to God that I’ll score. We know we need to score goals in this match so I’m up for tomorrow. I’m going to get out there, do my best for this team so hopefully we can get into the semi-final.”
Cisse’s confidence is key for their victory. The Magpies know exactly what they need to do and how they need to do it. The last step is execution; something that Newcastle United hasn’t quite done this season. Regardless, Newcastle United will come out firing in this quarterfinal matchup, giving them a great chance at advancing in the Europa League.
