Rafa Benitez masterminded Newcastle’s win over Swansea by giving orders from his sick bed

RAFA BENITEZ may have been absent in South Wales, but that didn't stop him masterminding Newcastle's win over Swansea.

The Magpies boss was at home recovering from an infection following a hernia op, but he still found the strength to give his backroom staff orders during the game over the phone.

No2 Miguel ‘Paco’ Moreno took charge of Newcastle on the day and said: “Rafa called us in the dressing room after the game to say congratulations.
“He congratulated everybody, especially the players because they did a massive job.
“We all wanted to win for the manager and we did that. We now look forward to him returning.”
Skipper Jamaal Lascelles sealed the win with a header from Matt Ritchie’s 77th-minute corner.
The goal hero said: “They mark zonal and I prefer to go against that.

“Matt Ritchie’s deliveries are on a plate every time so it was just down to me to put it in the back of the net.
“Overall it was a great team performance and the lads dug deep with the same mentality as against West Ham.
“We’ve set the standard now and have to keep that.
“The gaffer rang me this morning and said, ‘Make sure the boys are on it’ and to start well. He was watching and hopefully gets well and can be back with us soon.”

Swansea boss Paul Clement said: “It’s very frustrating. I’m not quite sure why it turned out like that.

“The feeling I had going into game, the way we had prepared and the atmosphere around the group, was all very positive.
“Then there was a performance like this. I’m finding it very difficult to understand what I saw.”
Swansea’s new loan signing from Bayern Munich, Portugal wonder­kid Renato Sanches, had a poor debut and was subbed on 69 minutes.

Clement said: “He did some good things; he did some things that were not so good.
“There was a lot of expectation around him, which is normal.
“He is a player who will get better and better.”