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Matthias Jaissle did something in first Newcastle game Eddie Howe didn't do

· Sean McCormick · 2026-08-09 · nguồn gốc

Matthias Jaissle did something in his first Newcastle game Eddie Howe didn't do in final stand Matthias Jaissle's reign as Newcastle boss kicked off with a 2-1 win over Valencia Whoever Matthias Jaissle named at full-back for Newcastle United against Valencia at the Mestalla Stadium would have caught the eye. After all, the only two natural full-backs in the squad, Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall, missed the 2-1 win over Valencia through minor injury concerns which meant opportunity knocked. But unlike at Bristol City where Eddie Howe shoehorned Jacob Murphy into the team at right-back, Matthias Jaissle chose to show faith in young pair Leo Shahar and Miodrag Pivas as his right-back and left-back. Howe opted not to use Shahar in his natural role from the start and hinted to Chronicle Live that the 19-year-old, who has made one competitive appearance for the club in the Champions League win over Qarabag in February, could be considered for a loan move later this summer. Get Chronicle Premium now for just £1 HERE – exclusive news and features, our NUFC and Academy notebooks, plus an ad-lite experience That could still end up being the case but it was actually Shahar's third start in four games in pre-season but playing in front of a 49,430 capacity Mestalla Stadium was a huge step up from a behind closed doors match with Darlington and a trip to Gateshead. Pivas was handed half an hour at Gateshead and has benefitted from the lack of options defensively, owing to Fabian Schar's injury and Dan Burn's absence after his World Cup exploits, to get an extended chance in pre-season, too. Chronicle Live understands the pair really impressed Jaissle in their La Manga pre-season training camp and there had been a hint this week that the former Al-Ahli boss was receptive to handing the club's youngsters an opportunity in his first match. And he did just that and, of course, the next question was how both players reacted to it. Pivas, a right-footed centre-half, did as well as he could do at left-back but I suspect we won't be seeing too much more of them there. Dylan Charlton was afforded the final 23 minutes in his place in the second half, too. Shahar impressed in his 45 minute showing, though, winning a couple of important tackles and looking tidy on the ball. The fact his game-time was reduced to just 45 minutes would suggest he is being protected with Wednesday's game against Everton in mind with Livramento still set to be injured. Mason Miley was another youngster who impressed Jaissle in training this week and he replaced Shahar at half-time and did not look out of place at right-back. Like his brother, Lewis, although a completely different profile of player, Mason is a midfielder by trade but has played as a right-back at under-18 and under-21 level and impressed and he did not look out of place in the heat of the Mestalla. Henry Johnson, who recently signed his first professional deal, was also given 20 minutes to impress at centre-half when he replaced Malick Thiaw at centre-half in the second half. Jaissle trusted Newcastle's youngsters and it will be interesting to see how much more game time they get across games against Everton, Bayer Leverkusen and Strasbourg. While Newcastle have not signed a right-back and Livramento remains out of action, opportunity knocks for the England youth international to stake his claim.