'No need' - Eddie Howe responds as 'outstanding' Newcastle United star issues public apology
Newcastle United defender Malick Thiaw apologised for his performance against Leeds United.
Eddie Howe has defended Malick Thiaw after the Newcastle United defender apologised for his performance in Wednesday’s 4-3 comeback win over Leeds United.
.jpeg?crop=3:2,smart&trim=&width=640&quality=65)
Newcastle came from behind three times before snatching a victory in the 102nd minute when Harvey Barnes scored his second goal of the night.
The Magpies went into half-time 2-1 down with Thiaw at fault for both goals. The German conceded possession to Dominic Calvert-Lewin and he set up Brenden Aaronson for 1-0 before conceding a penalty for a handball not long after Barnes had equalised.
Calvert-Lewin converted from the penalty spot and Thiaw, also on a yellow card for a late challenge on James Justin seven minutes in, was hooked at half-time and replaced by Sven Botman.
Joelinton equalised early in the second-half and it remained 2-2 until Aaronson restored Leeds’ lead in the 79th minute. It came moments after Fabian Schar was stretchered off and without a senior centre-back on the bench, Lewis Miley dropped into the heart of the defence.
And then came Newcastle’s sensational comeback. A handball from Aaronson saw Bruno Guimaraes level from the penalty spot before Barnes found a winner to lift United up to sixth in the Premier League table.
Eddie Howe defends Malick Thiaw after Newcastle United apology
Following the match, Thiaw took to Instagram to praise his teammates before apologising for his own performance.
“Incredible mentality from the team THANK YOU +3,” Thiaw wrote. “Well that was a total blackout from my side, sorry for that!”
In response to Thiaw’s apology, Howe, speaking ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup third round clash at home to AFC Bournemouth, said: “For me, there was no need to apologise. He's been outstanding since he's come to the football club. He's been very, very consistent, consistently good in his performances. Coming to a new club, I think he's been outstanding.
“Every player will have a moment where things don't go their way. I think he was unfortunate with the slip for the goal.
“At half-time, I felt I needed to protect him and make sure he didn't get sent off, both from his perspective and the team's perspective. But I think he's all good and he's experienced enough to put that behind him.”
The 24-year-old joined from AC Milan in the summer for £35million and has quickly established himself as one the team’s top performers, starting the last 25 matches in a row.
Thiaw is set to start the cup tie against Bournemouth. Him and Botman are the only senior centre-backs available after Fabian Schar was stretchered off against Leeds and Dan Burn still a few weeks away from returning.