Newcastle vs Liverpool: Match Report
In a game that had everything; late goals, red cards, unlikely winners, and drama everywhere on the pitch, Liverpool came out on top at St James’ Park. Liverpool fielded their all-new midfield for the first time this season with Endo in the holding role with Mac Allister and Szoboszlai playing advanced positions. Gakpo started centrally with Diaz and Salah off of him and Matip replaced Konate at the heart of the defence. Conversely, Newcastle remained unchanged from their clash against Man City which they had narrowly lost.
From the first few minutes, the drama began to boil over. Trent was fouled by Gordon, a matchup that was enthralling to watch, who then proceeded to throw the ball away resulting in a yellow card under the new guidelines implemented this season. Moments later he fouled Gordon and the supporters and players of Newcastle put pressure on the referee, John Brooks, to issue the right back a second yellow which did not materialise.
The game goes on with Eddie Howes's side forming a back 3 in possession with Trippier flying forward. Liverpool put on the high press blocking passes from the back 3 to the midfield which forced them back several times in the opening 20 minutes, where they found varied success with long balls. Newcastle had slightly more control of the game, and this was accentuated when Salah passed back to Trent who miscontrols the ball leaving Gordon to run past Trent, pick up the ball and drive before delivering a clean finish through the legs of Alisson to put The Magpies 1-0 up! A costly error from Trent who hadn’t covered himself in glory.
From there it went from bad to worse, a great ball played to Isak from Gordan sees the Swede get past Van Dijk before he kicks through him in an attempt to get the ball. Liverpool’s captain saw red and was ushered down the tunnel, leaving Klopp's side with 10 men at one of the most menacing stadiums in the league. In the space of 3 minutes, their afternoon seemed to have collapsed and escaped them.
Liverpool’s press was almost non-existent as they went to 10 men which left Newcastle claiming a large portion of the possession. Those in black and white managed to create a few chances before the end of the half. Almiron flicked the ball up for himself and struck the ball with some ferocity from inside the box, but Alisson was equal to the task, showing why he is still one of if not the best keepers in the world.
When the second half rolled around, it picked up from where it left off. At 58 minutes into the contest, Klopp made a double substitution of Jota and Elliott from Gakpo and Endo. After this Liverpool seemed to have more of a footing in the game, managing to press slightly higher up the pitch and applying more pressure to the Newcastle backline. They ended up having a decent spell where they had multiple corners and free kicks in Newcastle’s half.
Gordon still looked bright and picked up the ball, gliding past Trent as he came on the inside which he is so good at and driving at the defence. Unfortunately, he was taken off and replaced by Barnes in the 72nd minute. Almiron also had an immense run where he drove at Joe Gomez and curled a shot around Alisson, but the effort was met by the woodwork.
Darwin Nunez was brought on for Mac Allister in the 77th minute. This changed the game. It all looked lost for Liverpool, but his chaotic energy and unpredictability bought them a lifeline. A ball from Jota was miscontrolled by Botman with it bouncing behind him, Nunez was there to collect and take it into the box and find the bottom corner past Pope who could do nothing about it. 1-1. With just 10 minutes left + added time, Newcastle fought back to see if they could find a winner in this game, the second goal that had proven to be so elusive. A loose ball that didn’t find its target was intercepted by Elliott and collected by Salah who threaded the ball forward for Nunez to run onto. He left Dan Burn metres behind him, and he exquisitely fired the ball past Pope to put Liverpool ahead in the 93rd minute and win them the game. When all hope seemed to be lost, Darwin Nunez entered the fray and completely turned the game on its head to leave Eddie Howe and his men bemused. Newcastle had been punished for their errors and let a game which they never should have lost slip away from them, suffering their second successive defeat.
Despite Liverpool claiming all 3 points at the end of the match, there were some really worrying displays. Trent had a poor game and was isolated on numerous occasions vs. Gordon who was lighting up the left flank. In hindsight, Eddie Howe's decision to take him off was poor, considering how well he was playing. Their defence, who between them have all the experience in the world, looked constantly shaky and that was shown by the goal they gave away and the Van Dijk red card. From the red card, Newcastle held the majority of the ball which impeded Trent's game as he shines on the ball as a creator, with teams now targeting his defensive shortcomings more often. Their midfield did not have as much control as Newcastle’s did, with that being the first game with them all starting which is to be expected, but it will be interesting to see how their midfield evolves and plays together in the future.
Newcastle’s midfield looked thoroughly good with a great sense of balance and their wide play was electrifying with Almiron and Gordon having a lot of freedom to run at the fullbacks and cut inside. Isak wasn’t able to have the impact on the game that he would have liked other than drawing the red card. Unfortunately, their backline fell apart a bit at the backend of the game, with Nunez scoring from a very similar position and situation twice to put the game to bed. Burn stepped out of the line and was sitting much deeper than the rest playing Darwin onside and then didn’t have the reactions or pace to recover and apply pressure to Liverpool’s number 9 who cooly slotted it away for the game-winning goal.
A truly intriguing game that had moments of magic all over the place, from Alisson’s exceptional saves, Gordon and Almiron's winding runs and two brilliant finishes from a player who has been criticised for his poor finishing in the past. Liverpool will be hoping they can build on this win and find their rhythm whilst Newcastle need to bounce back against a strong Brighton side.
