Newcastle ensured José Mourinho had a miserable return to England but Anthony Elanga was denied a heavenly game.
That’s the verdict from The Pitch Prospect’s Troy Deeney, who claimed it was “really worrying” that the Magpies had failed to get the best out of their new winger.
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On a night of ups and downs for the club’s wingers, Anthony Gordon opened the scoring in the Magpies’ 3-0 win over Benfica before substitute Harvey Barnes scored a brace.
After naming an unchanged starting XI for three games in a row, Eddie Howe made three changes for Mourinho’s visit.
Elanga was one of those who left the Toon team after coming on as a half-time substitute in last weekend’s 2-1 defeat at Brighton.
In his absence, the Swede watched as his wingmates Jacob Murphy and Gordon worked together to break the stalemate against Benfica.
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The latter then set up Newcastle’s third goal and goalscorer Barnes rewarded Howe’s faith in using him against Elanga in the second half with a brace from the bench.
Speaking about commentary duty at St James’ Park, Troy Deeney said it would have been a match made in heaven for Elanga to get knocked out by the Portuguese side.
“They talk about the people who weren’t up to date,” the former Watford captain began on The Pitch Prospect.
“The fact that they failed to get the best out of Elanga is really worrying to me. I would have thought this was a match made in heaven.”
“You see what Gordon is doing on the other side. You just expect him to do the same thing.”
Elanga finally came on as a substitute in the last five minutes, but only had six touches of the ball – only one of which was in the opponent’s area.
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Deeney gave insight into the 23-year-old’s struggles after reacting to seeing him on a different wavelength to his teammates.
“It’s just really interesting there to see how Kieran Trippier and Elanga are not on the same page at successive times.
“Trippier wants Elanga to come up short, turn and run, but Elanga’s strength is what he just did there, he showed it and then ran after it.
“I think we have to give each other a little more personality.
“Elanga has to tell Kieran Trippier every time you get the ball: ‘Just put it in the back’.
“And I think this is where the little nuances of being completely different at Nottingham Forest and then at Newcastle are just figuring out a little bit, Anthony Elanga.”
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Elanga statistics in Newcastle
The winger’s performances in the Champions League were arguably a rare bright spot in his difficult start to life with the Magpies.
However, his late appearance on Tuesday meant that the Toon Army have now gone 12 games without scoring.
It is a far cry from Elanga’s form for Nottingham Forest last season, which convinced Newcastle to spend £55m to sign him.
The former Manchester United star moved to Tyneside after scoring six goals and providing 11 assists in 38 Premier League games.
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Howe helps Elanga improve
Newcastle paid a premium price for Elanga from a domestic rival in the belief he would be ready to hit the ground running.
Speaking on Monday, Toon boss Howe praised Elanga ahead of the Magpies’ Champions League win over Benfica.
“Anthony is an outstanding player and I have no doubt about his long-term qualities for the team,” he said.
“He’s currently going through a period of adjustment. He has to adapt his game slightly.
“If you look back at the highlights of his performances, you can see that he had some great crosses, even if he didn’t score direct goals. It’s not just his contribution, some of which we should have scored on. But I think he has a lot more to offer and I have no doubt about his success.”