Newcastle’s German defender struggled against Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Malick Thiaw heads the ball during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Leeds United
Newcastle United defender Malick Thiaw issued an apology for his performance after experiencing a difficult night in the dramatic 4-3 win over Leeds United.
The German defender has been sensational since his summer move from AC Milan, producing a string of accomplished displays in the heart of a Newcastle defence that has been ravaged by injuries.
However, his form came tumbling down with a disastrous first-half performance against Leeds and Dominic Calvert-Lewin at St James’ Park on Wednesday night.
He was beaten all ends up by Brendan Aaronson in the first five minutes, picked up a yellow card for a late challenge on James Justin minutes later and that set the tone for his evening.
Thiaw was at fault for Leeds’ early opener not long after, dwelling on the ball and then falling over to allow Calvert-Lewin to slip the ball to Aaronson who fired home from the edge of the box.
Thiaw’s night then went from bad to worse as he was adjudged to have handled a cross which allowed Calvert-Lewin to score a penalty on the stroke of half-time, although the defender did have claims for a foul which had put him off balance.
He was unsurprisingly substituted at half-time and replaced by Sven Botman and could only watch on as a madcap second half unfolded, ending in Harvey Barnes’ 102nd-minute winner for the Magpies.
Thiaw was delighted that his side had managed to secure all three points and took to social media to thank his team-mates for digging him out of a hole as well as apologising for his ‘blackout’ in the first 45 minutes.
He posted: “Incredible mentality from the team THANK YOU. Well that was a total blackout from my side, sorry about that.”
Thiaw is likely to be pressed immediately back into action on Saturday when Bournemouth visit St James’ Park. The Germany international is one of only two fit centre-halves at the club after Fabian Schar was stretchered off in the second half against Leeds.
The Swiss international looks to have sustained a bad ankle injury, meaning Thiaw and Botman are the only two centre-halves available to Eddie Howe as they head into a busy period.
Dan Burn is still recovering from his punctured lung and broken ribs sustained against Sunderland, although Howe did reveal he is back in training. Jamaal Lascelles, meanwhile, is still working his way back to fitness.
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