Although he had a few excellent performances to choose between, Gary Neville thought one Tottenham Hotspur player was outstanding today.
Neville was covering the game for Sky Sports and admitted that it had been one that he had been looking forward to.
Both Tottenham and Newcastle United have dealt with their fair share of injuries this season, and yet both have been producing excellent performances.
And it was Tottenham’s Destiny Udogie that particularly caught Neville’s eye today.
The pundit was complimenting £15m Udogie from the off, often enjoying his forays into midfield.
And even before Udogie’s goal, Neville has been comparing the full-back to one of the Premier League greats he often played alongside.
Neville said: “He’s really good at beating a man on the inside, Udogie. He really reminds me of how Patrice Evra used to do it at left-back for Manchester United.”
Of course, Udogie then found the back of the net around 10 minutes later, which gave Neville the chance to compliment him further.
He added: “Well they’ve deserved that, Spurs, and he’s deserved it. Udogie has been fantastic in these first 25 minutes.”
Gary Neville thought Destiny Udogie was brilliant for Tottenham today:
If there’s a player that embodies Ange Postecoglou’s football, it’s Udogie.
The full-back has adapted so seamlessly since arriving in North London permanently this summer.
It shouldn’t be understated just how difficult it must have been to quickly adapt to Postecoglou’s standards.
However, it appears to be a challenge that the Italian is enjoying, one he’s reaping the rewards of.
Gary Neville enjoyed so much of Tottenham’s attacking performance today, often complimenting Richarlison and Son Heung-min as well.
And although Udogie has shown a lot of attacking flair this season, one pundit was shocked at his positioning for the goal.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see how Udogie’s profile and tactical instruction does develop as Spurs build under Ange Postecoglou.
And at 20-years-old, it certainly looks like he’s around for the long-haul.