Rafa 'We Suffered'

Last updated : 27 December 2017 By Footy Mad - Editor

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Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "We needed a performance and a victory like this. We were pushing really hard against Everton and hit the post twice. I am really pleased for the lads and the fans. It is fantastic.

"We had to suffer all the way to the end. We have been playing quite well some games, losing out to a single mistake, so it was tense at the end.

"We know it will be difficult to the end but we know that we can win and achieve things doing things as we are."

West Ham v Newcastle off the spot - the stats
◾Newcastle earned their first win in 10 Premier League games (W1 D1 L8), and first away league win since September (1-0 v Swansea).
◾West Ham have lost two successive home Premier League matches against newly promoted sides for the first time since 2006-07.
◾This is the fourth time Newcastle have won both Premier League games against West Ham in a season - on three of those occasions they have been a newly promoted side (1993-94, 2010-11 and 2017-18).
◾Saivet became the 16th player to score a direct free-kick in the Premier League for Newcastle - only Everton and West Ham (17 each) have had more.
◾Eight players have scored their first Premier League goal for Newcastle this season - four of these have done so against West Ham (Diame and Saivet, Clark and Joselu in August).
◾West Ham have failed to score three of their past five Premier League penalties, with each missed by a different player (Mark Noble v Burnley, Manuel Lanzini vs Everton and Ayew).
◾Ayew scored his 12th goal for West Ham in all competitions since he signed, but this was only his third at the London Stadium.
◾Atsu both scored and assisted a goal in the same match for the first time in his English league career.