Outstanding stat from Newcastle United v Crystal Palace that shows Magpies have sensational player on their hands
Newcastle United comfortably beat Crystal Palace on Sunday in the end, but they had to wait a while for their lead after seeing two goals chalked off in the first half.
While it never felt for one second that a defeat was on the cards, there were a few moments when we wondered if it was going to be another one of those days when we should have won the game but couldn't score.
Thankfully, though, Bruno Guimaraes broke the deadlock after getting on the end of a fantastic cut-back by Lewis Miley, and just seven minutes later, Malick Thiaw scrambled home from close range to make it 2-0. It should have been three later on, but Joe Willock showed in stunning 4k why so many fans are ready to see him moved on, missing an open goal from six yards.
There were some top performances in the Newcastle team with Joelinton showing once again why you can never write him off, but it was young Lewis Miley, once again playing out of position, who caught the eye of many.
Lewis Miley completed 59/59 passes against Crystal Palace
The 19-year-old has been asked to play at right-back for the last few games due to injuries, and he's never grumbled, got on with the job and looked like a natural doing it.
However, he has still kept those midfield skills, and yesterday he completed 100% of his 59 passes. An outstanding achievement.
Miley has always been praised for playing with a maturity way beyond his years, and this is a huge indication that he's playing with great confidence lately.
How does Eddie Howe keep Lewis Miley in the team?
The problem Eddie Howe has now is that he has made himself undroppable, but Tino Livramento and Kieran Trippier are back from injury.
That means Howe may have to relegate him to the bench or make a huge call in midfield. Sandro Tonali hasn't been himself this season, and Miley could replace him in the engine room for a few games while he gets back up to speed.
It would be a massive call, and Howe will have to weigh up what kind of effect dropping Tonali will have on his confidence before pulling the trigger, but how do you drop Miley?
Newcastle still have eight games to go in January, though, so there's a lot of scope for rotation.
