Fulham defender Calvin Bassey endured a night to forget, as his two costly mistakes against Newcastle placed him top of the Premier League’s error chart this season.

The Nigerian international was directly at fault for both goals in Fulham’s 2–1 defeat at St James’ Park, the most errors leading to goals in a single Premier League match this term and joint-highest overall after nine games according to stats provider WhoScored.

Bassey’s first error came in the 18th minute, when he was dispossessed under pressure by Jacob Murphy near his own box.

The Newcastle winger capitalised, driving forward and firing a precise low strike in off the post to break the deadlock.

His troubles continued late in the game, as a misplaced pass near the halfway line allowed Anthony Elanga to intercept and feed William Osula, whose rebound effort was parried by Bernd Leno into the path of Bruno Guimarães for a dramatic winner.

The lapse drew criticism from former Premier League striker Troy Deeney, who described the defender’s mistake as “really, really poor” while analysing the match on BBC’s Final Score.

“Calvin Bassey was dilly-dallying on the ball. You’re not going to catch Jacob Murphy in a foot race. It’s a wonderful finish, in off the post, and the goalkeeper has no chance. Newcastle deserved that goal,” Deeney said.

According to Statmuse, Bassey now leads the season’s error list alongside Nottingham Forest’s Matz Sels, Wolves’ Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Emmanuel Agbadou, all with two errors leading to goals.

Despite the setback, Fulham manager Marco Silva has defended the 24-year-old, urging patience and perspective.

“Mistakes are part of the game,” Silva said.

“What matters is how you react. Calvin knows what went wrong, but I was pleased with the way he responded afterwards. It’s about doing the basics right and staying composed under pressure.”

Silva added that Fulham must build on their improved second-half performance and channel their disappointment into future matches.

“I saw character and reaction from the boys, that’s the mentality we need to keep,” he said.

Bassey’s difficult evening overshadowed what was meant to be a key return to Fulham’s starting line-up after starting from the bench in their previous match against Arsenal. The defender will now look to bounce back as the Cottagers prepare for their next test against Wycombe in the EFL Cup before hosting bottom-placed Wolves in the Premier League.