Eddie Howe hailed Anthony Gordon's performance after he proved decisive in Newcastle United's 1-1 draw with Manchester City.
Newcastle fell behind in the first half when Josko Gvardiol finished off a slick City move, but the home side hit back, with Gordon winning and converting a penalty to earn a point.
With Alexander Isak injured, Gordon, who has won seven penalties in the Premier League since the beginning of last season, at least four more than any other player during that time, led the line for Newcastle.
The England international performed brilliantly, creating two chances while also attempting four crosses as he dragged wide to stretch City's defence.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Howe said of Gordon: "I've said he is capable of doing the role.
"The highlight for me today was his energy and his running. He led the line really well and really pleased that he got his goal. Well deserved."
Gordon confirmed pre-match that he is close to signing a new deal to remain at Newcastle, despite speculation linking him with a move away.
After the match, he told TNT: "The way I play striker, you'll see a lot of pressing, just because I'm not an out-and-out number nine. I have to play it my way."
Newcastle have 11 points from their opening six games, and Gordon is encouraged by the tally given some of the performances this season.
He said: "It's a really good place to be considering we've been nowhere near what we can do. We've got so much more to give."
Howe too was delighted to see such a vast improvement from his side in comparison to their dismal performance away at Fulham last week, which saw them lose 3-1.
"We are happy, especially after last week," he told BBC Sport.
“That was a good display, that was us playing our way, brave. It was two teams going right at each other for probably 70 minutes.
"We got into really good crossing areas and I was really pleased with how we were off the ball and how we attacked the game. I can't ask for much more than that, the lads gave everything."
Slot not entertaining title talk as Liverpool go top
Arne Slot believes it is too early to speak of his Liverpool side as title contenders after they ran out 2-1 winners at Wolves to go top of the Premier League.
Ibrahim Konate had given Slot’s men the lead on the stroke of half-time but the home side levelled soon after the restart through Rayan Ait-Nouri.
Moments later, Nathan Semedo bundled over Diogo Jota in the penalty area and Mohamed Salah made no mistake from the spot to continue his and Liverpool’s fine start to the season.
The Egyptian has now scored 10 winning goals in the competition from the spot, only bettered by Alan Shearer with 12 and Frank Lampard with 18.
Despite going top, Slot insisted it was too early to speak of his side as title contenders, with just six league games played.
He said: “It feels good, you want to be up there but it doesn’t tell me that much at the moment.
"If you look at Wolves they are down in the table but they played much better than that today. After 19 games, it’ll tell me something, but not after six."
Slot praised his opposite number Gary O’Neil for causing his side some problems early on, but once tactical adjustments were made, the Dutchman was pleased with the amount of control his side exerted.
He told Sky Sports: "I don't think we started well, but we have to give credit to Wolves and Gary O'Neil.
"They had a really good gameplan. We had some problems in the first 20 minutes, but afterwards we took control of the game.
"We were patient and kept circulating the ball and kept waiting for the right moment to bring the ball in."
Wolves’ poor run of form continues and they sit bottom of the league, with no wins to their name and just a solitary point from their first six games.
O’Neil was still proud of his players after a narrow defeat and is adamant his side have deserved more points from their opening matches than the table suggests.
"They went toe-to-toe with one of the biggest clubs in the country,” said O’Neil.
“I am gutted for the lads, with what they have given in the last six games, they deserve more points.
"The responsibility of the result... I accept that, but I also need to praise the lads for delivering performances against opposition like this.
"I know them well enough that they will feel disappointed for a day, then they will be ready to go again."
The 41-year-old, who joined the club on the eve of the 2023-24 season, admits he has no control over whether he will continue as head coach.
"I can't control other people's belief in me. All I can do is the best I can do," he said.
First win of the season a 'relief' for Everton boss Dyche
Sean Dyche expressed his relief after Everton earned their first three points of the season through a Dwight McNeil brace at Goodison Park.
The hosts conceded early as Marc Guehi put Crystal Palace a goal to the good after 10 minutes, as Everton were again undone following a set-piece.
But a fine second-half display from McNeil saw two excellent finishes carry Everton over the line.
It was the first time this season Dyche's side had managed to maintain a lead, with the Toffees having dropped points from winning positions in their last three Premier League matches.
Following news of a possible takeover for the Merseyside club this week by The Friedkin Group, who also own Roma, Dyche was relieved to secure his first victory of the season, and just a sixth league win of 2024.
"I'm delighted for the players, they worked very hard to change a scoreline around," the Everton manager told BBC Sport.
"You know there’s been question marks over many things, and of course, there's been a bit of relief there for me today and relief for the players, and that’s a human thing.
"There's a lot of demand here that we put on ourselves and we have to answer to that and I thought we did today. We certainly did enough to win the game and that’s what was important."
Everton are yet to keep a clean sheet in the Premier League this season, though Jarrad Branthwaite's return from injury was a major bright spot.
And the Everton defence did look stronger despite a shaky first-half display. The visitors accrued an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.85 from 17 shots.
"It was a bit of nervousness. When you haven’t got that first win you feel nervous. Then you go 1-0 down, the stadium becomes awkward for the players," Dyche explained.
"I spoke to them in the second half about being someone who makes a difference. It’s every person that counts, not just one."
Everton proved far more clinical thanks to McNeil's long-range effort on 47 minutes. They finished on 0.91 xG from just eight shots.
"I thought the feel of the second half was better, not just the quality. Dwight popping up with two goals for two different reasons and some good energy in our play and the big moments went for us today," said Dyche.
Crystal Palace also had the better share of possession with 59.4%, a source of disappointment for boss Oliver Glasner.
"Over 70-75 minutes we controlled the game, but you must be focused all game. It is a big strength of Everton's in set-plays. They do it well and we defended it most of the time really well," he told BBC Sport.
"We tried everything, we changed the system, brought on all our offensive players. They defended with 10 players around their box so we didn't have a lot of space so it was difficult.
"Today we couldn't score the equaliser. If you concede two goals it's not so easy to get a point or to win."
It leaves the visitors without a win in their last six games in the Premier League.
"We know it when we look at the table. Maybe it is a welcome back to reality. Maybe we were flying too high after a great finish to the season. The Premier League is a fight," Glasner added.
Manning, daCosta Cup matches for Saturday postponed as referees withdraw services
All 30 games scheduled across the ISSA Manning and daCosta Cup competitions scheduled for Saturday have been called off due to referees refusing to work.
ISSA Competitions Officer Euan Scott confirmed the postponement of games scheduled for today.
Referees have opted to take strike action in relation to a pair of incidents that occurred in the daCosta Cup over the last few weeks.
One incident occurred during a game between Dinthill Technical and McGrath High last Saturday when a referee was involved in a confrontation with Dinthill players Maalick Whyte, Shamair Hutchinson and Tyrese Gowe after the game.
The referee was then allegedly physically assaulted by one of the players.
In a release on Thursday, after a meeting of its disciplinary committee, ISSA revealed that Whyte and Hutchinson have been banned from participating in any ISSA-run competitions for one year, effective September 26, 2024 while Gowe was hit with the three-match suspension.
The Linstead-based school was also placed on a three-year probation and faces the possibility of suspension should its players breach the disciplinary code of conduct within the period of probation.
The other incident occurred on September 14 when assistant referee Richard Ball allegedly was struck in the chest by a missile thrown from a group of spectators during a Zone A daCosta Cup game between Maldon High and Cornwall College.
Attempts by Sportsmax.tv to contact ISSA President Keith Wellington proved futile.
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