“He’s better than Fabregas”: Twitter hails Newcastle man after splendid performance

Spain under-21 took their Italian counterparts to the cleaners on Friday, with 3 unreplied goals from Mikel Merino, Borja Mayoral and Jorge Mere ensuring the young Spaniards mirrored what their senior sides would later play out during Sunday’s World Cup qualifiers.

In a man-of-match performance, Newcastle’s summer arrival Merino highlighted exactly why manager Rafa Benitez brought him to the Saint James’ Park on a season-long loan from Borussia Dortmund.

The 21-year-old left-back opened the scoring with a brilliant piece of strike in the first half, before playing a lovely ball through to Borja Mayoral for the second just right before the break.

Given that such performance is coming after Graeme Souness’ criticism of the former Osasuna youngster, there wasn’t a better way for Merino to have replied his critics.

While he clearly underwhelmed in the loss to Huddersfield, his almost faultless display against West Ham to help the Magpies to their first victory of the league campaign, and the brilliance against the Italians definitely would have helped Benitez’s 5th signing of the summer regain his confidence.

A couple of Spanish publications showered Merino with accolades after the game, and Twitter wouldn’t let such performance go without the deserved plaudits and praises.

Below are some of the best reactions –