Steve McClaren's first Barclays Premier League game as Newcastle United boss is finally out of the way and, although the Magpies could only claim a 2-2 draw against a very good Southampton side, there were plenty of positives for the Toon faithful to take away from the match. In a very-entertaining top-flight encounter, the visitors took the lead against the run of play when Graziano Pelle leaped higher than Chancel Mbemba to head home, before Papiss Cisse capitalised on Maarten Stekelenburg's mistake to chest in an equaliser not long before half-time. Then, in the second-half, the Magpies took the lead after Gabriel Obertan delivered a delicious cross, which Georginio Wijnaldum was able to meet with his head and score a brilliant debut goal. However, the Saints continued to push and, after Shane Long levelled with a back-post header, Newcastle did well to hold on for a point. But, aside from the obvious figures of the number of goals scored, which statistics really stood out from this match? Which stats that, when an observer of this 2-2 draw looks at them, would really surprise that person? Here WhatCulture.com/NUFC pick out 11 surprising stats from Newcastle United's 2-2 draw with Southampton... All the figures used are courtesy of WhoScored.com and can be found by clicking on this link.
NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.
