Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has confirmed that Matt Ritchie was his first-choice penalty taker after Kenedy had an injury-time spot-kick saved against Cardiff City in Saturday’s 12pm kick-off.
Cardiff City earned the first point of their Premier League campaign after being promoted from the Championship last season.
It was 0-0 at the Cardiff City Stadium in a game that the home side should have been leading after a dominant second-half display.
The Bluebirds almost lost their second consecutive game in the league when club captain Sean Morrison conceded a penalty after he handled Yoshinori Muto’s cross.
Luckily for Cardiff, Neil Etheridge was on hand – again – to save Kenedy’s shot, his second save from the spot in successive games.
Neil Etheridge is the first goalkeeper from the Philippines to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League.
Last-minute penalty save to seal it.
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Following the game, Rafa Benitez revealed that Kenedy wouldn’t have taken the penalty if Matt Ritchie had remained on the field.
“Kenedy was the designated penalty taker. First it was Matt Ritchie [who came off] but then it was Kenedy,” Benitez told reporters (via the Chronicle).
“It was a poor penalty, he’s not happy he missed a good chance. We win as a team and lose as a team, I am not concerned about the fact he missed a penalty, he has to take responsibility.”
Benitez also highlighted his side’s issue at full-back but was unwilling to discuss Isaac Hayden’s red card specifically, despite feeling hard-done-by overall.
“It was a difficult game. We have problems in the right-back positions – too many things went against us.
“We knew this game on paper you can be fighting with them. It’s a pity with 10 players – you can’t complain about the workrate.
“We had problems at the beginning, but we still had two clear chances.”
The Magpies have only taken a point from their first two games this season and it won’t get any easier for Rafa’s men in their next three league games as they play Chelsea, defending champions Manchester City, and Arsenal.
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The post Rafa Benitez confirms Newcastle’s penalty hierarchy after Kenedy miss appeared first on Squawka News.
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