Newcastle 2 Athletic Bilbao 0 and match ratings and comments on all Newcastle United players | OneFootball

We asked Davey Hat-Trick to give us his match ratings and player comments after Newcastle 2 Athletic Bilbao 0.

First things first: top marks to the Athletic Club fans. Everything you have heard about them is true. Showed nothing but love and respect for our city, our club and our fans, even after the game.

As for the game itself, it was an improvement on Sunday (it couldn’t really be anything else), and though we weren’t at our absolute best, we got a vital three points.

We sit sixth in the Champions League table after four games and we have an excellent chance of qualifying for the play-offs at least.

There were times when we didn’t look entirely comfortable (at 1-0, when Bilbao hit the post, and especially after Eddie made a raft of second-half substitutions), but I always felt like we had enough to beat Los Leones. They came to give us a game, and they did; the win was far from routine.

I think my overall feeling at the end of the game was one of relief. And then my thoughts turned immediately to Sunday. I really hope the lads can gain some confidence from this performance. We need to translate home and Champions League form into Premier League away form.

Nick Pope 7

An assured performance.

Caught the ball instead of punching and made a couple of smart saves when called upon.

Another clean sheet.

Kieran Trippier 7

A good, solid game from Tripps.

Understands his role and concentrates hard.

He’s also as fit as a fiddle – not bad for a 35-year-old.

Malick Thiaw 8

If they were choosing a player of the season right now, I’d vote for this fella.

He is quick, he snuffs out danger, and he is very comfortable on the ball.

The specific criticism I heard about Thiaw when we signed him was that he had lapses in concentration. I have yet to see any evidence of that since he has been at Newcastle.

Sven Botman 7

Much better than at West Ham.

He got stuck in, passed the ball well, and looked like he was enjoying himself. A good night’s work.

Dan Burn 9 In with a shout for Player of the Match. I think the problem people have with BDB is that he looks like he should never be a left back. Most of them are a foot shorter than him. But he had a very good game, defending well, getting down the wing when appropriate, then topping it off with a blinding header for our first goal. I have no hard evidence for this, but I think when Dan Burn plays well, Newcastle play well.

Bruno Guimaraes 6

Didn’t seem to possess the energy needed for the midfield battle but we’ll put that down to illness.

Battled hard, in no way let us down, but needs to regain full health.

Sandro Tonali 9

Much, much better from Sandro.

High levels of energy, strong on the ball, even when he was surrounded by green shirts, and an acute sense of where he needed to be before he was needed.

A big factor on our victory.

Joelinton 8

Some people were questioning Joelinton’s place in the side but this was a very good display.

Was competitive without being overly so, his passing was better than it has been for a while, and he scored a lovely header to put daylight between Newcastle and their opponents.

Harvey Barnes 6

Did OK but no more.

Didn’t really get into the game on the right but looked a bit better when he switched wings.

A couple of promising forays into the Bilbao box and a perfect dinked cross for Joe’s goal.

Nick Woltemade 6

Not at it in this game – in the first half I was saying he looked a bit tired.

There was enough nifty footwork to remind us what a skilful player he is but he didn’t look 100% sharp to me.

Missed a fairly easy header and didn’t cause Athletic Club too many problems.

Oh – the ref seemed oblivious to the shirt-pulling and grappling he had to suffer at the hands of the Bilbao defenders.

Anthony Gordon 5

Didn’t last to the end of the first half due to injury, but in all honesty, it was another poor game from AG to that point.

The Bilbao right-back seemed to have him in his pocket, and as a result, Gordon seemed to lose his enthusiasm for the contest.

SUBS

Jacob Murphy 6

Did what he does – looked to get the ball into the box at the first opportunity.

One of those attempts led indirectly to our second goal and another was a toenail away from giving us a third.

Not so effective when dwelling on the ball – was dispossessed a couple of times.

Lewis Hall 7

He was only on the pitch for 25 minutes or so but what a 25 minutes!

He was excellent – refusing to concede ground in defence, and carrying the ball forward like a midfield player.

Welcome back Lewis – we missed you.

Lewis Miley 5

Didn’t really establish himself in the game.

It’s never easy coming on in midfield when the intensity levels are ramping up and I felt the game passed Lewis by a little.

Anthony Elanga 5

It was good to hear the fans singing Elanga’s name – he looks like he needs something to boost his confidence.

He is yet to show us what he can do.

A couple of decent moments last night but not much impact.

He was playing on the left rather than his favoured right, so I won’t be critical.

Jacob Ramsey N/A 

Subbed on to shore up a midfield that was under pressure and to let Woltemade put his feet up.

Not on long enough to give a fair appraisal.

Newcastle 2 Athletic Bilbao 0 – Wednesday 5 November 2025 8pm

Match Stats

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Burn 11, Joelinton 49

Bilbao:

Possession was Newcastle 58% Bilbao 42%

Total shots were Newcastle 8 Bilbao 12

Shots on target were Newcastle 4 Bilbao 5

Corners were Newcastle 2 Bilbao 5

Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 20 Bilbao 16

Newcastle team v Athletic Bilbao:

Pope, Trippier, Thiaw, Botman, Burn (Hall 65), Bruno (Miley 66), Joelinton, Tonali, Gordon (Jacob Murphy 41), Woltemade (Ramsey 83), Barnes (Elanga 66)

Subs: