Newcastle United duo make it into Alan Shearer's Premier League Team of the Week following midweek fixtures
Newcastle United returned to winning ways on Tuesday night, beating Tottenham Hotspur in their own backyard.
It was a huge result for both teams. It was a badly needed away win for Newcastle and it was the last straw for the Spurs board who sacked Thomas Frank the next morning.
Newcastle were vastly improved compared to recent performances, but we always have to caveat that by noting just how poor Tottenham were for much of the game, other than a 10-minute spell at the start of the second half.
That's not to take anything away from Newcastle's players, though, who all had their best game in a while.
Alan Shearer picked two Newcastle players in his Team of the Week
Indeed, two players were so good that Alan Shearer selected them in his Premier League Team of the Week.
Malick Thiaw scored his fourth goal of the Premier League campaign, which put him joint top of the scoring charts for centre-backs. He also looked solid at the back again, which had started to become a concern of late.
The other selection was Jacob Ramsey, who had his best game in a Toon shirt by far. If there was anyone who deserved a goal on Tuesday night, it was him, and the raw emotion he showed when the ball hit the back of the net showed just how much it meant to him.
Now can we carry on the good times at Aston Villa
It feels like a lifetime ago since we were talking about Newcastle players being selected in anyone's team of the week, so getting two at once shows just how good that win was on Tuesday.
The challenge now is to build on those performances and take them to Aston Villa tomorrow.
It will be a much sterner test, but you can never underestimate just how big a difference a boost of confidence can make.
