Bad day for Kenedy: Five things learned from Cardiff 0-0 Newcastle

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Cardiff City and Newcastle United both earned their first point of the new Premier League season after a 0-0 draw.

Both sides had lost their opening games and neither truly looked like finding a winner with defences coming out on top.

However, Newcastle, who had earlier been reduced to 10 men following Isaac Hayden’s red card, had the chance to win it in injury time but Kenedy’s penalty was saved.

Here are five things we learned.

1. Newcastle’s right-back problems grow

Following DeAndre Yedlin’s knee injury picked up against Tottenham Hotspur which ruled him out of Saturday’s fixture, Javi Manquillo was handed his first start of the season but lasted just 45 minutes.

Up against Murphy, Manquillo had a torrid first-half as the Cardiff midfielder constantly got at him with his pace and driven movement on the ball.

The Spaniard was fortunate to only receive one yellow card during his time on the pitch, having attempted to handcuff himself to Murphy on occasion while also trying to get his shirt prematurely.

If Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez had been thinking about taking Manquillo off at the break, an injury just before half-time would have undoubtedly cemented his decision as the Spaniard was replaced by Isaac Hayden.

But, to make matters even worse, Hayden lasted just 22 minutes before being sent off for a tackle from behind on Murphy near the centre circle.

2. Cardiff new boys shine on home debut

With Premier League football back in Cardiff after a five-year absence, Bluebirds manager Neil Warnock made four changes to the side which lost to Bournemouth and though they did not get the win, they troubled Newcastle.

The standout performer of the afternoon was Josh Murphy who tormented not one, not two, but three Newcastle right-backs with his attacking mind being fouled of three occasions including one which resulted in a red card for Hayden.

Unfortunately for Murphy and Cardiff, he could not get the goal or assist his performance deserved before being taken off with just over 10 minutes to go.

While Murphy impressed out wide, in the centre of the pitch, Harry Arter brought composure to the Cardiff midfield on debut after joining from Bournemouth on a season-long loan.

The 28-year-old completed 74% of his passes against Newcastle, the fourth-highest accuracy of any player to start the match.

3. Kenedy joins Kalinic with unwanted record

Chelsea loanee Kenedy had a good brief spell with Newcastle last season and as a result earned himself another temporary return to St James’ Park.

Last week against Tottenham the Brazilian was a consistent threat for the Magpies though could not help them earn a point. However, against Cardiff City, Kenedy was one of the poorest performers on the pitch certainly in the first half.

In the opening 45 minutes of the match against Cardiff, Kenedy failed to complete a single pass, attempting just two. This made the Brazilian the first outfield Premier League player to fail to complete a single pass in 45+ minutes of action since Nikola Kalinic did so for Blackburn Rovers against Birmingham City in March 2010.

Kenedy would eventually record his first successful pass in the 47th minute, on his fourth attempt but his match would be one to forget as he missed a last-minute penalty to win all three points for Newcastle.

4. Neil Etheridge creates another Premier League first

In Cardiff’s opening game of the season, a 2-0 reverse to Bournemouth, goalkeeper Neil Etheridge became the first ever Filipino to play in the Premier League, also saving a penalty despite the defeat.

And just one week later, Etheridge reached another first for the Premier League in keeping a clean sheet making the Philippines the latest nation to record a shutout in England’s top flight under its current format.

Against Newcastle, the goalkeeper made fives saves but despite the large number was relatively untested as he mostly had to deal with crosses from set pieces.

However, he did have to save a last-minute penalty from Kenedy to preserve his clean sheet and get Cardiff their first point of the new season.

5. Kenedy can expect restrospective action

On the opening weekend of the season, referee Craig Pawson sparked the first big VAR mention post-World Cup after sending off Everton’s Phil Jagielka for a late challenge on Diogo Jota.

And just a week later he was involved in another moment, failing to see Kenedy’s wild kick at Victor Camarasa in the middle of the pitch.

The Premier League voted to not include VAR in the division this season, leaving it to the cup competitions once more, despite its relative success at the World Cup in Russia amid fears and some minor, often misplaced, opposition.

Had the referee seen it or been allowed to view it on replay, Kenedy would have undoubtedly been shown a red card for his moment of madness, but instead he was allowed to continue the match.

Nevertheless, the Brazilian can surely expect to be sitting out of Newcastle’s next few fixtures – including one he was already set to against parent club Chelsea – due to the likely restrospective ban.

Newcastle did eventually get a player sent off when Pawson deemed Hayden’s tackle on Murphy from behind to be worthy of a straight red card.

The post Bad day for Kenedy: Five things learned from Cardiff 0-0 Newcastle appeared first on Squawka News.



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