Troy Deeney selects 'exceptional' Newcastle United man in his Team of the Week for the BBC

Newcastle United recorded back-to-back Premier League wins for only the second time this season when they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at St James' Park on Sunday.

Goals from Bruno Guimaraes and Malick Thiaw sealed the win, which should probably have been way more convincing in terms of the scoreline.

While it wasn't out-and-out domination, Newcastle did largely control the game and Lewis Miley, Malick Thiaw, Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes all put in top shifts to bring the win home.

However, only one of those made it into Troy Deeney's Team of the Week for the BBC.

Troy Deeney overlooked Lewis Miley for his defensive partner

While Lewis Miley would have been our pick for Player of the Match on Sunday, Troy Deeney left him out of his team and opted instead for goal scorer Malick Thiaw, citing his performances since November as a reason to keep an eye on the German this season.

"Malick Thiaw (Newcastle): From November onwards, he has been exceptional. He had a tough time in Italy but he is delivering consistently now. He scores a goal, which always helps for any defender in this team of the week. Solid performance, delivered, was more aggressive and I feel like he is starting to get his bearings now and feel like he is the man at Newcastle."

A defender scoring is always going to give him a points boost, so we're not surprised to see Thiaw's name in Deeney's selection.

Malick Thiaw has been Newcastle's signing of the season

Malick Thiaw has probably been Newcastle's signing of the season. He was thrown into first-team action quicker than was expected after Fabian Schar was forced to miss a couple of games with a concussion, and he seized his opportunity and hasn't given the spot back to the Swiss defender since.

He has, however, formed a solid partnership with the 34-year-old in Sven Botman's absence, and now the Dutchman has a job to do to get back into the team.

It's not just Thiaw's defensive abilities that have impressed us, but his coolness on the ball in high-pressure situations, and the fact that he's bagged three goals this season is a nice little bonus.