LONDON:Eddie Howe is confident that goal-shy Newcastle will discover their “X factor” as they adapt to life without star striker Alexander Isak.
The 26-year-old Sweden international joined Premier League champions Liverpool for a British-record fee of £125 million ($169 million) on transfer deadline day, ending a protracted saga.
Howe plugged the huge gap in his front line with a club-record £69 million swoop for Germany international Nick Woltemade late in the transfer window while Yoane Wissa arrived from Brentford in a deal worth £55 million.
Woltemade, 23, is still finding his feet in the Premier League while a knee injury has prevented 29-year-old DR Congo forward Wissa from making his debut.
“In an ideal world you have a full pre-season to iron out any issues you have,” Newcastle manager Howe said on Tuesday. “You’re forming your partnerships and team relationships so they’re formed for the start of the season.
“We’re in the position where we’re going to have to do it as we play. I have no issue with doing that, I’ve done it before.”
Newcastle, who launch the defense of their League Cup crown on Wednesday, have won just one of their six games in all competitions, keeping four clean sheets but managing just four goals.
The Magpies are 13th in the Premier League table with just one win in five matches.
Former Stuttgart forward Woltemade scored on his debut in a 1-0 victory over Wolves on September 13 but drew a blank in Sunday’s tepid 0-0 draw at Bournemouth, when genuine chances were at a premium.
“I don’t think any comparison to Alex is favorable to any player,” said Howe. “I wouldn’t do that in other positions. Every player is unique and Nick is certainly that.
“The biggest thing is the foundation is solid. The team is playing with strength, it’s just missing that X factor that I think will come.”
Howe, who made seven changes to the side that lost 2-1 to Barcelona in the Champions League last week at Bournemouth, is likely to shuffle his pack once again for Wednesday’s League Cup third-round clash with third-tier Bradford.
Newcastle beat Liverpool in the League Cup final last year to end their 56-year wait for a major trophy.
Howe confident Newcastle will find ‘X factor’
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Howe confident Newcastle will find ‘X factor’
- Eddie Howe is confident that goal-shy Newcastle will discover their “X factor” as they adapt to life without star striker Alexander Isak
Kane helps Bayern past Leipzig into German Cup semis
- Bayern join defending champions Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg in the last four of this season’s competition
MUNICH, Germany: Harry Kane scored a penalty and Luis Diaz struck again as Bayern Munich beat RB Leipzig 2-0 on Wednesday to reach the German Cup semifinals for the first time since 2020.
Already on the wrong side of two Bayern thumpings this season, Leipzig were much improved but the hosts grabbed hold of the match with two goals in four second-half minutes.
Bayern join defending champions Stuttgart, Bayer Leverkusen and Freiburg in the last four of this season’s competition.
Kane’s penalty was his 39th goal in all competitions for Bayern this season, while Diaz’s goal was his fifth in his past three matches.
Winners of this competition a record 20 times, 14 more than any other club, Bayern had failed to make it past the quarter-finals since 2020, when they beat Leverkusen in the final.
Leipzig had won two of the past four German Cups but Bayern had form over the visitors this season, winning their two Bundesliga clashes by a combined score of 11-1.
Leipzig pressured the hosts early and were celebrating a goal after just four minutes, but an acrobatic Christoph Baumgartner strike was disallowed for a narrow offside.
Bayern immediately made the most of the let-off, Kane forcing a last-ditch clearance from Ridle Baku with the Leipzig goalkeeper laying on the turf.
The home side gradually wrestled control of the match and were unlucky not to take the lead with 57 minutes gone when Leipzig ‘keeper Maarten Vandevoordt denied Serge Gnabry with a stunning save.
Bayern were in front just five minutes later, Kane converting from the spot after Vandevoordt felled an advancing Josip Stanisic in the box.
Kane’s spot-kick, his fifth goal versus Leipzig this season, was his 12th penalty in all competitions this campaign.
Bayern’s goals this season have come in bursts and the Bavarians scored again just four minutes later, when Michael Olize found Diaz on the counter to help book a spot in the final four.
The German Cup final will be held at Berlin’s Olympic Stadium on May 23.
