Why Casemiro came off at half-time

The Brazilian, who was absent from Sunday's Premier League derby clash with Manchester City, returned to the matchday squad for the home tie against the Magpies and was given the captain's armband.

Club skipper Bruno Fernandes, meanwhile, was named among the substitutes as Ten Hag made some anticipated changes - seven, in fact, to his starting XI.

However, Casemiro only played for the first 45 minutes, during which Newcastle went 2-0 up through well-taken goals by Miguel Almiron - an early replacement for the injured Matt Targett - and Lewis Hall. Our no.18's woes were compounded by a yellow card, seemingly shown for persistent fouling.

When asked at his media briefing why Casemiro did not…