Analysing Newcastle’s attacking performance against Nottingham Forest
Eddie Howe’s side manage to pick up where they left off with a comfortable win to kickstart the season.
As the Premier League returns for another scintillating season, Newcastle fans find themselves entering this season with an optimistic mindset dreaming about the exciting times that could lie ahead, and Eddie Howe made sure those dreams were fulfilled.
Newcastle managed to continue their good form from the end of last season, picking up three points against newly promoted Nottingham Forest in a dominating performance, attempting 23 shots at the Forest goal throughout the game in a comfortable win for Eddie Howe’s side.
How Newcastle lined up in the opening fixture of the 2022/23 season.
Average positions from the Newcastle starting 11 vs Forest.
As you can see from the average positioning of the players, Bruno Guimaraes was the deepest of the three midfielders. The Brazilian international constantly dropped deep to receive the ball off the backline and then proceeded to carry the team up with pitch, with either a dribble into the vacated space in midfield, or a pass into players attacking the spaces in behind the defence.
Guimaraes was often able to advance into empty areas created by Joe Willock roaming in and around the final third, occupying spaces and helping to disorganise the Nottingham Forest defence whilst also providing extra support for the front three.
Only Allan Saint Maximin progressively carried the ball further than Bruno Guimaraes against Nottingham Forest.
The average positions of the Nottingham Forest defence emphasise how the movement and positioning of the forwards helped to break down the defensive structure of the newly promoted side.
The average positioning of the Nottingham Forest team throughout the defeat vs Newcastle.
Forest’s back five (Numbers 7-4-19-26-15) was pulled completely out of shape and disorganised, and when compared side by side to the positioning of the Newcastle players, it’s clear to see that Callum Wilson’s movement and runs constantly dragged their central centre back Moussa Niakhate (19) out to the left hand side of the defence, opening up a gap in the Forest backline.
Allan Saint Maximin often positioned himself out wide, hugging the touchline, and further stretching the defence whilst also isolating either Neco Williams (7) or Joe Worrall (4) for a one on one opportunity, in which Saint Maximin would be confident in his ability to come out on top.
As Neco Williams is out of position, Saint Maximin‘s wide positioning forces Joe Worrall to cover the right back area, creating a huge gap between him and the closest defender.
Saint Maximin’s speed and dribbling ability means he easily beats Worrall and charges into the space he created, leading to a shooting opportunity for the French forward.
Over the other side of the pitch, Miguel Almiron’s pace and movement off the ball caused problems for the Nottingham Forest defence, combined with Willock’s floating movement into the vacant spaces around the final third, the Forest defence became disordered.
All of these factors successfully culminated in a first half sequence that saw Newcastle almost break the deadlock.
Almiron’s clever movement means that he positions himself in the Nottingham Forest defender’s blindspot and then proceeds to run in behind him and on to the pass from Kieran Trippier.
Willock’s movement over to the right hand side of the pitch means that Almiron can run inside unmarked and Bruno Guimaraes can advance into the empty space Willock has left, receive the ball in a dangerous area and create an opportunity.
As Guimaraes receives the ball, he has a lot of time and space, forcing the Forest defender, Scott McKenna, to move out and apply pressure on him. This creates space in behind the defence for the unmarked Almiron to run into and Guimaraes has the quality to pick out the Paraguayan with a threaded through ball.
Despite not signing any attackers so far in this summer transfer window, Newcastle certainly put on a superb attacking show for the returning St James’ Park crowd as the Toon carried their fine form into the new Premier League season and Howe’s men proved once again why this season will certainly be an exciting one for the Magpies.