Newcastle United suffered a 1-0 loss against Mainz 05 as the Magpies' pre-season tour of Austria ended in defeat.
Delano Burgzorg scored the only goal of the game at the Kufstein Arena just before the hour mark after Mainz took Eddie Howe's side apart on the counter-attack.
Here are five things we learned from Newcastle's latest friendly.
READ MORE: Newcastle United vs Mainz 05 highlights
Fitness won't be a problem this season
This was Newcastle's biggest pre-season test yet as Howe's side came up against a Mainz outfit who finished in eighth place in the Bundesliga last season, defeating Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig along the way, and Howe will certainly have learned more from a defeat like this compared to a comfortable victory against inferior opposition.
Eager to get minutes into his players' legs, Howe decided to retain the XI that cut loose in the second half and finished the 3-0 win against 1860 Munich. Sven Botman, Fabian Schar, Joelinton, Bruno Guimaraes, Miguel Almiron and Chris Wood were among those handed their first pre-season starts as a result.
In contrast to Friday's game, even fatigued, Newcastle started the match with the intensity that was lacking a few days previously. You could see what Newcastle have been working on during their training camp, whether it was pressing high up the pitch to force Mainz into mistakes as even right-back Kieran Trippier did at one point; playing out from the back; or trying to dominate possession.
Perhaps, most importantly, Newcastle are getting fitter, which is the primary objective of pre-season, and match fitness and extensive work with the ball is what the players lacked a year ago going into the new season. Given the intense double sessions the players have been put through in the heat, that work will pay off.
But the need for firepower clear
Newcastle lacked an edge at times in the final third against Mainz and Chris Wood had little to feed off during his hour on the field. The Magpies only created one chance of note for the striker in the first half just before the half-hour mark when Sean Longstaff's ball over the top found Almiron down the right. Almiron went on to cut the ball back to Wood, but the 30-year-old fired over. Newcastle did not ultimately force the 'keeper into a save of note until the 54th minute when Almiron again cut the ball back, this time to Joelinton, but Robert Zentner parried the midfielder's effort.
It was only after going behind, and following a raft of changes on the hour mark, that Newcastle looked a little more threatening with substitute Elliot Anderson at the heart of things. Anderson started off one particular move just a few minutes after coming on with a driving run and picked out Emil Krafth out on the right, but Jacob Murphy was unable to convert the Sweden international's cross.
The chance summed up that final touch, pass or finish Newcastle were lacking, whether it when Jonjo Shelvey's searching ball just evading fellow substitute Callum Wilson; Shelvey slicing a 20-yard effort after great work from Allan Saint-Maximin down the left; or Wilson being denied by sub 'keeper Finn Dahmen from a tight angle.
Eddie Howe hopes to get a 'couple' of more deals done and after missing out on Hugo Ekitike and, potentially, Armando Broja, too, the need for firepower is clear.
Sven Botman catches the eye again
After an impressive cameo from the bench against 1860 Munich three days previously, Sven Botman was given the chance to impress from the off alongside Fabian Schar. Yes, it was only a friendly, but this was another encouraging display from the summer signing, who was not only dominant in the air but, also, remarkably composed in possession.
Although Botman is comfortable playing as a right-sided centre-back, too, there was a nice balance to Newcastle's starting centre-back partnership, with the naturally left-footed Dutchman complementing the naturally right-footed Schar. The pair looked settled until Schar was taken off as a precaution in the 57th after appearing to pull up and was replaced by Dan Burn.
Newcastle were undone just a minute after that defensive reshuffle as Kieran Trippier's quick free-kick was blocked and Delano Burgzorg made the Magpies pay on the counter-attack after slotting the ball under Dubravka. It was a poor goal to concede, but there was little Botman could do about it.
A hint at how captaincy could work
Eddie Howe has already confirmed that Jamaal Lascelles will remain as the club's captain this season and, perhaps, that decision should not come as a huge surprise. Howe, after all, is keen not to disrupt the dressing room and wants to retain the togetherness and spirit that served Newcastle so well in the second half of last season.
Although Lascelles only made five starts in the final four months of last season, the skipper continued to push and support those around him when he was not in the team. Lascelles remained a crucial figure in Howe's leadership group as a 'very powerful presence' who has helped keep the dressing room together for years during some difficult moments.
Lascelles will keep that role going forward, regardless of whether he is a regular starter or not, and it will fall to others, like the vocal Kieran Trippier, to wear the armband when the centre-back is not playing. Monday's friendly offered a little preview of that dynamic as Lascelles started on the bench and Trippier led Newcastle out.
Elliot Anderson's big week or so to come
That Elliot Anderson impressed against non-league Gateshead and third-tier 1860 Munich was not a shock. Anderson, after all, is more than comfortable at that level, having helped inspire Bristol Rovers to promotion from League Two last season. What was striking, then, about Anderson's half-hour cameo against Mainz was how the 19-year-old again caught the eye against vastly superior opposition as one of Newcastle's real bright sparks both with his drive on the ball and the way he pressed off it.
It may well be that a loan move is still the best step for Anderson to continue his development and get the minutes he needs, but the attacking midfielder will be desperate to build on a strong start to pre-season against both Burnley and Benfica when the Magpies jet off to Portugal later this week. You can never rule out a pre-season surprise and Anderson is doing all he can to impress Howe and his coaching staff.
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