Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has urged his midfielders to provide more service to his isolated frontmen.
The Magpies suffered a 2-1 reverse against Manchester City in the Premier League on Saturday, as Benitez’s side suffered a third consecutive defeat in all competitions.
After the game, Benitez hailed Salomon Rondon’s performance against City, but wants more from his other attacking players.
“Salomon did a great job, he was holding the ball well and bringing other players into the game despite having centre backs on him,” the Newcastle boss told the Chronicle.
“He was working on his own at times. When Salomon was tired, Joselu was flicking the ball on. With both players they have mobility and physical presence, they can give us something.
“Now what we have to do is make sure the players around them: [Yoshinori] Muto, Ayoze [Perez], [Matt] Ritchie and [Christian] Atsu can give us something else. That will help us maximise the strength of the strikers.”