Newcastle United began their pre-season double-header weekend at St James’ Park with a 1-0 victory over Atalanta.
Chris Wood’s penalty on 39 minutes separated the two sides with every player except Jacob Murphy completing 90 minutes.
Murphy departed for Matty Longstaff on 82 minutes, while Chris Wood and Ryan Fraser was brought off injury time for Dylan Stephenson and Matty Bondswell.
Eddie Howe’s side return to action on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3pm) with La Liga side Athletic Bilbao.
Our writer Jordan Cronin was at St James’ Park, and here’s how he rated each Magpies player:
1. Nick Pope - 7
Produced a strong save from Duvan Zapata on 17 minutes but otherwise a quiet evening.
2. Kieran Trippier - 7
Carried on after an early knock. As always, Trippier was defensively solid and a threat with his wand of a right foot.
3. Fabian Schar - 7
Dealt with the physical battle of Luis Muriel and Duvan Zapata well.
4. Dan Burn - 8
His best performance of pre-season by far. Dominant in the air and read the game very well. Photo: Gualter Fatia