Perez And Co Set The Standard

By Anthony Marshall - Newcastle United Managing Editor

Ayoze Perez insists he and his Newcastle United teammates have set the standard for the rest of the season following Saturday's 2-2 draw against Barclays Premier League champions Chelsea.

The Spanish starlet broke the deadlock just before half-time with his first goal of the season, and then provided an assist for Georginio Wijnaldum to double the Magpies' advantage midway through the second period.

Chelsea grabbed a share of the spoils with time running out, however, as Ramires and Willian struck to snatch a draw from the jaws of defeat.

And despite the sense of disappointment at the outcome, Perez believes United should be proud of their display at St. James' Park.

"It was a very good performance and we deserved to win," the forward told nufc.co.uk.

"We had the win in our hands but at the end we dropped it.

"I am very happy to have got my first goal of the season but also really sad because we dropped two points.

"It was a good time to score, just before half-time. It made us confident, and the second goal as well helped that even more.

"The pressure came off me a little. I am a striker and I have to score goals, so it felt very good.

"We have to make sure that we're like this every single game against every team. That is what we have to think and that is how we have to work.

"This is our standard. This is what we have to keep and there are no excuses because we have shown we can play to this level."

Newcastle travel to high-flying Manchester City next weekend, and Perez believes holding the champions stands them in good stead for their trip to the Etihad Stadium.

"There were many positives because we had a good performance against a very big team. We have to think that we can do it when we got to Manchester City next weekend," he continued.

"It is another tough game but we will go there and play to this level and try to come away from there with some points."