Jamaal Lascelles felt that Newcastle United at least showed they were prepared to go "toe to toe" with the Premier League champions Manchester City.
Lascelles came in from the cold for his first start since the 2-1 defeat away to Liverpool way back in August and the centre-back did well enough against Erling Haaland with the man who has scored 33 goals this season in all competitions unable to add to his tally. Lascelles set the tone against the Norway ace with a strong early challenge but could not stop a 2-0 defeat.
Looking back on the game, the Newcastle defender said: "We made it difficult. On a different day, you don't know. We had chances to be fair.
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"I think we have come a long way but to go toe to toe with them and play so high up the pitch here there are positives to take. Not many teams will come here and go on the front-foot and have a high press on the halfway line.
"I think we did that today. "A couple of times we nearly nicked it. It just goes to show the way the manager wants to play. On the front-foot no matter who we face. We are disappointed not to get anything."
When asked about playing against former Borussia Dortmund ace Haaland, Lascelles reflected: "I enjoyed it. He has a great record so far but I was looking forward to playing against him."
Speaking about his own personal stint on the sidelines in the Premier League, Lascelles admitted he had to be patient. The skipper - who Eddie Howe turned to after Fabian Schar's injury in the League Cup final - said: "I have been on the bench for a while because of how well the team has done. They have been fantastic.
"I had to wait my turn. And I was ready when called upon. It is a shame we didn't get anything from the game but there were positives to take."
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