Is This Rafa Benitez’s Biggest Win as Newcastle’s Manager?

Newcastle went into their Sunday match against Manchester United in 18th place, in the relegation zone. With no givens on the rest of their schedule, Benitez admitted that stealing a victory from one of the top 4 was necessary to stay alive in the Premier League. Newcastle’s home form would also give them no favors, making it even more unlikely that the Toon would hand Manchester United their 5th loss of the Premier League campaign.

But on this Sunday, Newcastle got the bounces they needed in order to secure the three points. The players stuck to their game plan, were disciplined, and finally finished the game without conceding a late goal. Could this be Rafa Benitez’s biggest win for this club? Let’s take a look at some other wins.

May 15th, 2016

Newcastle 5-1 Tottenham

This win came at the final game of the 2015-2016 season and was only the 10th game of Rafa Benitez’s tenure with Newcastle. Although it was a major victory, and by a huge margin, the result was not enough to keep the Toon out of the relegation zone. As you are well aware, Newcastle would finish 18th, even after an impressive 6 match unbeaten run to end the campaign. In those 6 matches Newcastle faced Liverpool, Manchester United, and Tottenham. All of whom were in the top 8 of the Premier League.

May 7th, 2017

Newcastle 3-0 Barnsley

Another win coming at the last game of the season. This time, Newcastle would clinch first place in the Championship, after being in 2nd only behind Brighton & Hove Albion for the previous 5 matches. It capped off a long season outside of the Premier League. Although it was long, it was definitely fun watching Newcastle rack up a +45 goal differential.

April 16th, 2016

Newcastle 3-0 Swansea

This would be Rafa’s first win as Newcastle’s manager. Although Swansea wasn’t having an amazing year, the win was hugely important as it stopped a 7-game winless streak. We would also get a glimpse at Jamaal Lascelles who would score the game-winning goal off a corner. To top it all off, April 16th is Rafa Benitez’s birthday! What a birthday present it was.

What do you think would be the best win of Rafa Benitez’s tenure? If I missed any obvious ones let me know in the comments!