Newcastle United defender Jamaal Lascelles has said that Islam Slimani was not at fault for his ineffective performance against Everton.
Leicester City forward Slimani joined Newcastle on loan in January, but the Algerian international has only recently returned to full fitness after injury.
Slimani was hauled off after 63 minutes of the game at Goodison Park, but Lascelles has insisted that the rest of the Magpies squad were to blame for his lack of an impact.
The 24-year-old is quoted by Chronicle Live as saying: "He's a good player and he settled in really well against Arsenal.
"He worked hard for us at Everton and they made it hard for us to play and to give him good service. You can't point the finger at anybody because we win as a team and lose as a team.
"We didn't really get the chance to get the ball down and play or get up the pitch. Sometimes you've just got to hold your hands up and say fair play to Everton, because we gave our all."
The 1-0 setback on Merseyside ended Newcastle's run of four consecutive victories in the Premier League.
Darren Plant
