Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has told the Shields Gazette that he was was really pleased to see Aleksandar Mitrovic, Christian Atsu and DeAndre Yedlin against Preston.
But it was Jonjo Shelvey who stole the show with a perfect performance. He never put a foot wrong in the hour he was on the field.
The Magpies were in EFL Cup action on Tuesday evening, with in-form Preston travelling north to St. James' Park, with a place in the last eight up for grabs – and it's Newcastle who made it through after a convincing performance.
Benitez's men took the lead when Mitrovic headed home from close range on 19 minutes, and Preston's hopes were all but dead when Alan Browne was shown a straight red card for an aerial challenge on Jack Colback.
Mohamed Diame made it 2-0 before half time, before Matt Ritchie, Mitrovic, Diame and Perez all found the net to seal a 6-0 victory and a spot in the quarter finals of the competition.
It was the perfect evening for Newcastle; another win, another clean sheet, progression in the EFL Cup and ideal preparation for this weekend's Championship clash with Preston at Deepdale.
After the final whistle at St. James' Park, Benitez told the Shields Gazette that he felt he needed to rotate his squad in order to have players competing for places in the Newcastle team.
Benitez suggested that with a number of players on the fringes of the team, he wanted to bring them in to prove that they can play at a high level – and he added that he was particularly happy with three players.
The Spaniard said he was 'very pleased' to see Mitrovic, Diame and right back DeAndre Yedlin in action on Tuesday night, with many positives on show for the Magpies.
“It is important to have players pushing and trying to show they can do well,” said Benitez. “We have three or four players who have not been playing too many games. They come in and they play at this level, it can only be positive for the team and the future. I’m really pleased to see Mitrovic, Diame, (Christian) Atsu, or even (DeAndre) Yedlin. There were a lot of positives.”