Allan Saint-Maximin had nowhere to go after being cornered by Ivan Balliu and Isi Palazon deep in Rayo Vallecano's half just before the break. However, rather than throw his arms up in the air in frustration, as he so often did when he lost the ball in the past, Saint-Maximin raced to win back possession for Newcastle United on Saturday with a superb sliding challenge by the touchline to earn a round of applause from Eddie Howe at St James' Park.
"We are working with him on quite a few aspects of his game - that would be one of them," Howe told reporters after the 2-1 friendly win. "His attitude to that work has been very good. He's focused.
"You could see he started the game really well and, for the first 15, 20 minutes, he was excellent. The most important thing for me was in the latter stages of the game, he was still working and running and playing for the team, so positive signs for Maxi. He's another player that can build from that game."
