It is on afternoons like this when you wonder why Jonjo Shelvey is so readily cast aside as a former England player, just as much as you wonder whether team-mate Kenedy will be a future Brazil star.
There may be questions over Shelvey’s temperament — his two red cards outnumber his one goal this season — but his commitment and class are not in doubt.
On Monday of last week, Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez had as good as ruled him out of contention for this match, the midfielder having come so close to season-ending knee damage in a collision with his own goalkeeper last month.