Newcastle United v Liverpool A Liverpool Perspective
What a fantastic game to watch, even if the result was not the one I wanted, it was still a great game, really enjoyable to watch. Both teams set out to win the match from the start and that makes a huge difference.
It does seem Slot did not fully learn his lesson from the Nottingham Forest defeat, as the team was caught cold by Newcastle’s high press early on. Gravenberch looked out on his feet, which makes his refusal to utilise Endo more in the early part of the season look like a mistake. It is not like the defence, where it is difficult to get minutes for central defenders to keep them sharp, so it is understandable Quansah and Gomez had poor games and looked off the pace. Slot will have to find a way to manage Gravenberch’s minutes, as the Dutchman has become the key player in midfield, especially over the Christmas period.
At least Liverpool have built a nice cushion over the rest, ready for when a tougher period comes along. That will allow Slot to take a bit more risk and rotate more to keep players fresh. He does need to get Endo and Elliott, as well as Chiesa, up to speed, and they will almost certainly struggle to perform while they get their sharpness up. So far, it has pretty much been plain sailing, due to how well Slot has managed the team, he has put the team in a great position, but it is mentally tougher when you are ahead with something to lose.
Newcastle United
Newcastle must have figured that Liverpool would be tired after the two games they had recently played, and so they went with a high energy, high tempo and high press game to test Liverpool’s energy levels. It worked at the start, putting Liverpool on the back foot, and took them into the lead twice, but it did fall apart after Alexander-Arnold came on. They were so afraid of leaving a space in behind for him to pass the ball into that the press vanished and they instead looked to drop off. That very nearly cost them the game, but for a mistake by Kelleher. It must be said that, on the balance of the play, they probably did deserve to get a point.
It was interesting to see them choose to go a different route from the only team to beat Liverpool this season, Nottingham Forest. Where Forest sat deep, defended narrow and kept Liverpool at bay for 60 minutes or so, then brought on pace in wide areas to hit them on the counter, Newcastle decided to take the game to the Reds and played high. It was a very brave decision, especially considering Howe’s job cannot be 100% safe there as they are currently sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League. A lot of managers would have just gone safety first in his place, so it was pleasing to see it pay off for him in that respect.
Liverpool
Kelleher – a dreadful performance from the Irish keeper. His kicking was horrendous, almost always picking out an opposition player. On top of that, he was solely at fault for the third goal and I am of the opinion that the other two would have been saved by Alisson as well. The kicking was a big part of the problem Liverpool had dealing with the Newcastle press, as he would turn over the ball too often. It invites pressure on to the team.
Quansah – awful game from Quansah. As a right-back, he lacked timing of runs forward, was caught out of position defensively and he was poor on the ball. His touch was off as well. Newcastle were happy to just let him have the ball and worry about keeping Salah out of the game. A lot of his poor play can be put down to lacking sharpness, but a major problem was his usual lackadaisical approach to the game, something which has seen him lose his place in the team. When switched to the centre, he was little better.
Gomez – another to have a really poor game, like Quansah he is not match sharp and this was likely to happen. He has only had a few minutes of game time, up until Konate got injured. Like Quansah, he is going to be up and down in form while he gets sharp.
van Dijk – had an unusually poor game, struggling to get close to Isak. Little surprise after the last two games in quick succession that he, like the rest, had a dip.
Robertson – after a couple of good games, where he was looking like the Andy Robertson of old, he was back to looking like a player out of form and on the decline. Looks in real need of a rest, but Tsimikas’ injury has meant Slot has been unable to rotate him.
Gravenberch – a game too far for Gravenberch. This was when Slot’s reluctance to give Endo more minutes caught up with the team. Gravenberch was clearly struggling to keep up the pace after a heavy recent schedule. From the start, he was caught on the ball and it gave Newcastle the impetus to keep the press up. He really needs a rest, whether that is a day or two off training or taking a game off, he is in urgent need of a break before he picks up an injury due to muscle fatigue.
Mac Allister – too soft early on in the game, as usual throwing himself to the floor looking for a free kick when he had simply lost the ball in midfield. When he failed to get the free kick, he did buck his ideas up and started to battle more. Very unlucky to get booked, especially when you consider the numerous far worse offences Joelinton committed without being carded. At least it gets the 1-match ban out of the way now, to give him a rest before the heavy Christmas schedule. Overall a decent game, despite the rocky start.
Jones – had a good game, did some good things and worked hard to break the press with his movement. Scored a good goal and was the only one of the starting midfield who seemed ready from the kick-off.
Gakpo – was a constant threat and worked hard, constantly causing problems and trying to make something happen. Really should have scored though. Nunez gets the blame for not sliding it in at the far post, which he should have done, but it should never have got that far as Gakpo should have buried it.
Salah – he spent the entire first half being double and triple marked, as a consequence he struggled badly. Once he managed to get away from all the cover, he caused havoc and was excellent, picking up two goals and an assist, which should have been enough to win the game.
Nunez – for all the criticism, he is not getting many chances to miss in a game. Which is more of a worry than if he was missing lots. He does a lot of work off the ball, but he needs to provide more of a goal threat to stop teams being able to double up on Salah. It was not a good overall game for him.
Diaz – replaced Gakpo in the 66th minute. Worked hard, but got very little in the way of service to make anything happen. His energy and willingness to challenge for everything made a real difference though, as it was just looking like Liverpool’s levels were dropping.
Alexander-Arnold – came on for Gomez in 66th minute. His arrival changed the game. Suddenly the Newcastle defence were at panic stations and the press was gone as the Toon were afraid to get caught in behind. Instead, they dropped off the moment the ball went to him and looked to defend deep, which created space for Liverpool to play in midfield. His passing and vision makes such a difference in games like this.
Szoboszlai – took Gravenberch’s place in the 66th minute. He was a big part of helping Liverpool take control of the game and make use of the space provided by Newcastle’s press dropping off.
Written by Tris Burke December 07 2024 05:50:10
