West Brom 0-2 Newcastle: 7 Key Ways The Baggies Were Blunted

3. A Sprinkle Of Magic

Alan Pardew is always clear that he wants the kind of player who has the ability to turn their feet into wands every now and then to unlock games that are heading towards stalemate: he might have cast off both Hatem Ben Arfa and Sylvain Marveaux as scapegoats despite their creative ability, but he still seeks flair. That magical touch came from the surprising form of Ayoze Perez, a Spanish wonderkid who seems - for once - to be living up to the label, despite precisely zero Newcastle fans expecting to even see him play this term. He might have had a thankless task for most of the game, but when Daryl Janmaat drilled his pass into the box (which probably would have been scored by Jack Colback if Perez hadn't connected), the Spaniard was alive enough and audacious enough to flick it into the far corner. Was it intentional? Of course it was. You don't have a haircut like that without some supreme confidence.