Newcastle United warmed up for the restart next week with a 2-1 win against Rayo Vallecano at St James' Park.
Sean Longstaff opened the scoring for the hosts after just four minutes with a fine finish and Chris Wood doubled his side's advantage with a penalty midway through the second half. Rayo pulled one back in the 75th minute after Matt Targett put the ball through his own net.
Here are five things we learned from Saturday's friendly.
READ MORE: Newcastle United vs Rayo Vallecano highlights
Kieran Trippier's shouts sums up Newcastle's approach
This was Newcastle's final game before the restart and formed a crucial part of Eddie Howe's preparations for Tuesday's Carabao Cup match against Bournemouth. Although a whopping 16 first-team players were absent, after a behind-closed-doors training game took place on Friday, Howe still named a strong side with Nick Pope and Kieran Trippier among those starting - just a week after England's World Cup quarter-final defeat.
Howe went strong despite next week's last 16 tie being brought forward by 24 hours due to planned NHS strike action, which meant there was a quick turnaround between the two games. It showed you just how serious the Magpies boss was taking this friendly and, indeed, Rayo Vallecano, whom he visited on a fact-finding mission during his time out of the game last year.
No wonder Newcastle started the game with real intent and Longstaff fired his side ahead after just four minutes after lashing the ball into the roof of the net from a tight angle. Newcastle had to wait to double their advantage - Chris Wood confidently dispatched a penalty in the second half - but when levels did drop, Kieran Trippier was not shy in shouting at his team-mates to urge them to up the intensity.
Howe has helped to build a winning mentality at Newcastle to such an extent that the players do not even want to lose intense training games at Benton, and the squad will have known they could not afford to take this friendly lightly with places still up for grabs.
Glimpse of a different Saint-Maximin
Even if Newcastle do not do any business in January, the Magpies will be boosted by the return of a number of fully-fit stars in the second half of the season. Alexander Isak is stepping up his recovery from a thigh injury albeit the record signing is not expected to feature against Bournemouth or Leicester City; Jonjo Shelvey is pushing for his first Premier League start since April; and Allan Saint-Maximin looks sharp after putting his hamstring issues behind him.
Shelvey and Saint-Maximin were, of course, available for selection just before the World Cup break - even starting the cup tie against Crystal Palace - but the pair have had the benefit of a mini pre-season in recent weeks as they look to make a real impact in the coming months.
With competition for places being so intense, and Newcastle's front three functioning so well without him, Saint-Maximin knows he will not just simply walk back into the team as he did in a previous era - no matter how gifted he is. Saint-Maximin has had to work at his all-round game and there were a couple of glimpses of that on Saturday.
There were just five minutes on the clocx, for example, when Saint-Maximin burst through in trademark style. The Frenchman may have once gone it alone, or hung onto the ball for too long, but the 25-year-old unselfishly squared the ball to Chris Wood, who slotted home before the goal was chalked off for offside.
Florian Lejeune gets quite the welcome
There were no points or prize money on offer, but this warm-up game was more than a mere mid-season friendly for Florian Lejeune. For the first time in nearly three years, the Frenchman was back playing at St James'.
Lejeune never had the chance to say goodbye and thank Newcastle fans for their support, particularly when the defender was sidelined with two serious knee injuries during his time at the club, so this was a special game for the 31-year-old. No wonder Lejeune told ChronicleLive this was an occasion 'brimming in emotion'. Even captain Jamaal Lascelles said he was 'really looking forward' to seeing his one-time centre-back partner.
Although Lejeune had to make do with a place on the bench, the 31-year-old was afforded a warm welcome even before he came on in the second half. Eddie Howe walked over to shake Lejeune's hand before the centre-back was given a huge roar when he entered the field. A lot has changed since Lejeune last represented the club, but supporters have never forgotten the contribution he made during some difficult times in the Ashley era.
Remarkable support at St James' once more
It had only been five weeks since Newcastle last played at St James' - defeating Chelsea in their final game before the World Cup break - yet it felt like a lifetime since Joe Willock fired his side to a priceless 1-0 win. You suspect supporters were itching to get back inside the stadium and although this was only a friendly, 34,956 fans still popped along, including a small, all-singing travelling contingent from Madrid in the away end.
Some clubs are unable to boast a crowd this size for a Premier League game - let alone a friendly days before a sold-out cup tie - but Newcastle will always have a huge advantage at home with this support.
Youngsters get another taste
Aside from goalkeeper Mark Gillespie, who was the only senior representative named among the substitutes, the bench was filled with youngsters. Although Howe only made three changes during the game, Dylan Stephenson, Jay Turner-Cooke and 16-year-old Lewis Miley all got another taste of first-team action at St James' late in the second half in another afternoon the trio won't forget.
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