Shay Given heaps praise on Jamaal Lascelles for his performance against Kylian Mbappe admitting while he was initially ‘worried’, the defender was ‘absolutely brilliant’ containing the PSG superstar during Newcastle’s 4-1 win
- Shay Give has praised Newcastle player Jamaal Lascelles for his performance against PSG
- The defender was crucial in keeping Kylian Mbappe quiet during their 4-1 win
- click here to listen to the latest episode of Mail Sport’s ‘It’s All Kicking Off’
Shay Given has praised Jamaal Lascelles for his performance in containing superstar Kylian Mbappe during Newcastle’s epic 4-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain.
Eddie Howe’s side sensationally stunned the Ligue 1 champions on Wednesday evening as Champions League football returned to St James’ Park for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
While the entire team was excellent throughout the match, former Newcastle goalkeeper Gegeven singled out the 29-year-old defender as crucial in masterminding the victory.
He told TNT Sports: ‘Before the match we were a bit worried about Mbappe against Lascelles.
‘He (Lascelles) has never played in the Champions League.
Shay Given has praised Jamaal Lascelles (right) for his performance in containing superstar Kylian Mbappe
Lascelles’ defensive display helped Newcastle to a big 4-1 win against PSG in the Champions League on Wednesday evening
Their pressing match overwhelmed the Ligue 1 champions, with Mbappe struggling to help his side to victory
‘He’s playing against a superstar in Kylian Mbappé. And he was absolutely brilliant.
“You could go through the whole field, Anthony Gordon, Miguel Almiron, all these different players, Alexander Isak… You could go through the whole team. Absolutely special.’
On his Champions League debut, the England defender was a standout player, shutting down Mbappe several times with exceptional defensive defending.
From the start their pressing was excellent and according to Rio Ferdinand, who also spoke for TNT Sports, that set the tone, with PSG unable to match them.
‘The core of such a performance is desire, work ethic and intensity. All those players there had that and that quality,” said the former Manchester United defender.
Given added: “You could see they were fighting for every ball. They put PSG under pressure all over the pitch.”
Before the match, there was a lot of talk about how Newcastle would prepare to contain 2018 World Cup winner Mbappe.
But Ferdinand said their pressing game plan ultimately won them victory.
He said: “Newcastle laid it out and that shows for one man they were brilliant all over the pitch. To a man, they played high risk, pressed football and it paid off. Dan Burn, what a great story there too. There are also two local boys on the scoresheet. What a moment.’
Miguel Almiron (photo) opened the scoring for Eddie Howe’s team in the 17th minute
Dan Burn (below), a lifelong Newcastle fan, doubled the lead before half-time
Sean Longstaff (centre) got the third for the home side before Fabian Schar sealed the victory with a goal in the 91st minute
Newcastle would make a flying start, buoyed by the electric atmosphere at St James’ Park, with Miguel Almiron putting the Geordies ahead after 17 minutes with an exceptional finish.
Lifelong fan Dan Burn doubled the lead just before half-time. VAR made the home fans wait several minutes before awarding his header, but when the referee pointed to the center spot, the ground erupted in elation as the defender was in dreamland.
They continued to battle all over the pitch, with Sean Longstaff driving down the right wing before hitting a shot under Gianluigi Donnarumma in front of the Gallowgate End to make it 3-0 just after half-time.
The Ligue 1 side would hit back shortly afterwards through new signing Lucas Hernandez, but Eddie Howe’s side sealed the match in the 91st minute and reaped the rewards of their high pressing, with Fabian Schar firing a shot from outside the penalty area into the back of the team. the net.