da leao： Sky Sports' Pete Gill has slammed Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock for missing a huge opportunity in the club's most recent game.
What's the latest on Joe Willock and Newcastle?
da betsson： As the race for the final Champions League spots heat up, two key top four contenders met at St James' Park on Sunday afternoon.
Indeed, the Magpies played host to Manchester United in the Premier League, coming into the game two places and three points behind the Red Devils on the table.
The first half flew by as both teams pushed for the break-through in a fiercely-contested opening 45 minutes, but they score remained 0-0 at the break despite Newcastle having the best of the opportunities.
The Athletic's George Caulkin best summed it up: "The only thing missing from an #NUFC perspective has been a bit of finesse in the final third. Otherwise, a really good performance so far and a feisty, aggressive match, played in a great atmosphere."
And perhaps the man who was mostly guilty of being wasteful was Willock who missed a brilliant opportunity in the 40th minute when set up by Allan Saint-Maximin – as seen in this footage.
Reacting to the wasted chance, Pete Gill said on Sky Sports: "That is a dreadful finish. Two Newcastle players threw themselves to the floor in despair at Willock's miss."
How bad was Willock's miss against Man Utd?
Having helped create the opportunity Saint-Maximin was one of the players to also hit the deck after the miss, alongside a visibly exasperated Alexander Isak.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville had some advice for the £80k-p/w man, echoing Gill's words: "Do not lean back! There are a couple of Newcastle bodies on the floor, they cannot believe he has put it over."
While Alan Shearer perhaps summed it up most aptly with his Tweet: "How many f…… chances man!!"
Thankfully, it seemed as though Willock got the message at half time. Indeed, having missed two big chances in that first 45, he made no mistake when the next opportunity came his way.
Indeed, when Saint-Maximin arrived at the far post to meet a cross, he nodded the ball across the face of goal and Willock couldn't miss as the Englishman headed home from just a couple yards out.