Rafa Benitez hails Newcastle spirit after win at Leeds
Sunday 20 November 2016 17:03, UK
Rafa Benitez was delighted with his side's spirit after Newcastle beat Leeds 2-0 in the Sky Bet Championship on Sunday.
Dwight Gayle's double secured victory for the away side at Elland Road, lifting them five points clear at the top of the table.
"We knew that it could be a tough game and it was," Benitez told Sky Sports. "But I think we did what we had to do, we controlled the game for 30 minutes in the first half and scored the goal, but were under pressure for the last 15 minutes as they pushed us with corners and free-kicks.
"[We reacted] in the second half, the team was doing well and we scored the second goal and afterwards it was more or less about doing the same."
Despite their lofty position at the top of the league, Benitez insists that their approach will not change between now and the end of the season.
"We have to keep doing the same things, playing with intensity, no complacency and try to get more points in every game," he said.
"We know anything can happen [in the Championship], so we have to approach every game with the same mentality."
Benitez admitted he had a tough call to make whether to start Gayle or Aleksandar Mitrovic, with both strikers in such good form, but also reserved praise for the whole team.
"It was difficult for me to decide who to play, because all of them were coming back and training well," he said. "So to decide to play one or the other was difficult.
"At the same time I'll give credit to the rest of the team. We've kept a clean sheet in a very difficult stadium and the performance of the team defending and attacking was brilliant, and has been for the whole season."
