There was only really one contender for Player of the Match last night when the final whistle blew at the San Siro as Newcastle United earned a point against AC Milan.
Nick Pope refused to be beaten by AC Milan in the Champions League opener last night. No matter what they tried, Pope was equal to it and picked up the Player of the Match award by several outlets.
Micah Richards was pundit duties on CBS Sports on Paramount+ last night (19/09/23 at 10:10 pm) and he was certainly very impressed with the Newcastle ‘keeper’s performance.
Micah Richards sang the praises of Nick Pope on CBS Sports
Richards was full of praise for Pope hailing his performance as ‘outstanding’.
“But Pope’s saves,” said Richards. “AC Milan had 25 shots and Pope made 8 crucial saves.
“We have been banging on about him in England and how good he is with his shot-stopping, and he proved his worth.
“He is just big, he has got that presence, he commands his area and he had an outstanding game. He had to. Away in Milan. He knew it was going to be tough.
“We know he isn’t the best on the ball. But he makes the right decisions, at the right moment and I thought he was impeccable.”
Pope should now be full of confidence ahead of Newcastle’s next game
Impeccable is a strong word but it’s hard to think of a moment last night where Pope put a foot wrong.
Coming off the back of a few sub-par performances and being dropped by Gareth Southgate, you could be forgiven for thinking the £10million former Burnley man’s confidence was in the gutter, but he proved last night that a couple of poor displays does not a poor player make.
Last night’s efforts should give Nick Pope all the confidence in the world going into Sunday’s Premier League clash with Sheffield United.