World class Rafael Benitez praises impressive Christian Atsu again

Former Real Madrid boss Rafael Benitez has hailed the impact of Christian since his arrival at Tyne wear.

Atsu has been a useful sub and added goals to his trickery making him one of the first cards to be called on by the highly experienced Rafael Benitez who is bent on bring Newcastle back to the English Premier League.

'I think that we said last week that Atsu was working very hard, and I'm really pleased with the goal that he scored.

'He tries to do the things that the team needs, but at the same time he's scoring goals. I'm really pleased for him because it is good for his confidence.

'I think that we tried to play well. The pitch wasn't the best in terms of passing the ball on the floor, and it was difficult to control the ball. We tried to play well, and if we can, then perfect, because we will have more chances to win games.'

Atsu is expected to leave for the Africa Cup of Nations in January next year.