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Newcastle and Liverpool met in a rematch of last season’s League Cup final, although it has since been overshadowed by the Alexander Isak saga.
Eddie Howe named an unchanged side from the team that drew with Aston Villa.
Arne Slot made two changes to the team that beat Bournemouth, with Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch coming into the midfield to replace the injured Alexis Mac Allister and Jeremie Frimpong, as Dominik Szoboszlai moved back to cover at right back.
Unsurprisingly given the off-field circus, St James’ Park provided a hostile atmosphere for the visiting Reds, yet Liverpool seemed to play right into Newcastle’s hands.
Newcastle wanted to get stuck into Liverpool, forming a 3-5-2 shape to press Liverpool high. Whereas Anthony Elanga would track Milos Kerkez, Harvey Barnes would press the centre-backs with Anthony Gordon, seeing Tino Livramento push up to cover Szoboszlai instead. With the midfielders each picking up their opposite number, Newcastle were cutting off the short options for Liverpool.
Combined with the intensity of Newcastle’s press, this obviously made it difficult for Liverpool to play out. It also left Newcastle three-versus-three in defence, so Liverpool instead looked to play over the press, with Alisson Becker hitting the ball long. For the most part these long balls were aimed towards Cody Gakpo on the left, who had a better chance of winning aerial duels against the shorter Kieran Trippier.
Newcastle were much stronger in the air than Liverpool though, and so these long balls never amounted to much for the Reds. Every time Liverpool got the ball, they were basically handing it back over to Newcastle.
It wasn’t impossible for Liverpool to play out. By including Alisson in the build-up they could outnumber the forwards, able to pass around them to find a free man. They also managed to create space in midfield by having one of the midfielders drop into the backline, drawing away a Newcastle man. Even when they managed this though, it was often followed by a long ball.
Forcing Newcastle into chasing them and tiring them out was risky, but could have helped to quiet the home side, who surely couldn’t have maintained that level of intensity for ninety minutes. The alternative clearly wasn’t working, and was only encouraging Newcastle and their supporters, boosting the fierce atmosphere rather than taking the sting out of it.
Liverpool were essentially playing a game that Newcastle were much better at. Like Newcastle, Liverpool would press high, with Florian Wirtz pushing up next to Hugo Ekitiké to form a 4-2-4 shape.
Going long suited Newcastle much better though. Even if they lost the initial header, they had three players in midfield, all up for a battle, ensuring they outnumbered Liverpool’s to win the second balls, while Gordon was happy to drop off to join them too.
They seemed to be targetting Kerkez in particular, with combinations of Bruno Guimarães, Elanga and Trippier moving up to draw him out, as another made a run behind him.
Mohamed Salah remaining high on the opposite flank also gave Livramento space to push forward into.
Nevertheless, it was Liverpool that opened the scoring. They won the ball back at a throw-in, and a long shot by Gravenberch caught Newcastle out. There was little power in the shot, but with three players between him and the ball, Nick Pope was left unsighted, although, barely creeping in off the post, it’s unlikely the goalkeeper would have been able to reach it even if he had seen it coming earlier.
Newcastle’s intensity then worked against them shortly after. Gordon chased down first Ibrahima Konaté, then Alisson, then Virgil van Dijk, throwing himself into a late challenge from behind as the Dutchman kicked it long. Gordon tried to pull out but had already overcommitted, raking his studs down Van Dijk’s leg to earn himself a red card.
Things would then get even better for Liverpool as the second half kicked off. Newcastle kicked it long, but Liverpool won the second ball with Guimarães and Joelinton pushed forward in attack, giving them space to counter. The counter was slowed down as Newcastle backed off and got men back, but three players moved towards Gakpo to close down his shot. This saw the shot blocked, but it also meant Ekitiké was left in space on the edge of the area, and he placed his low finish out of the reach of Pope.
Liverpool had very much been second best, yet they were now two goals up against ten men. Surely it was game over now.
No.
Down a man, Newcastle stopped pressing as they had previously, instead dropping back into a 4-3-2 shape. This saw Liverpool have much more of possession, settling into a much more comfortable game for them.
This lasted for just ten minutes before Newcastle pulled one back. Liverpool headed away a throw-in, but Sandro Tonali crossed the ball back into the box. Guimarães headed home at the back post, rising above Kerkez, who crouched down rather than competing with the Brazilian in the air.
Emboldened by the goal, Newcastle upped their intensity again, pushing forward to press.
Outnumbering Newcastle, Liverpool were now much more willing to try passing around this pressure, getting the ball into attack, however there were also moments when they once again kicked it long rather than playing out.
With just minutes to go, Newcastle equalised. Liverpool kept a very high line for a free-kick in Newcastle’s half, so Pope knocked it in behind. Battling with Dan Burn, Konaté let the ball bounce through, allowing substitute William Osula to run onto it and tap it into the net before Alisson could claim it.
Liverpool once again threw away a two goal lead, but this time it was thanks to poor defending at set-pieces rather than leaving themselves open as they had against Bournemouth.
Newcastle continued to threaten from set pieces, yet it was Liverpool who ended up stealing a winner. Quick passes between Konaté, Gravenberch and Harvey Elliott saw them work the ball through the midfield into attack, where Liverpool had five men against four defenders. Wirtz drew out Lewis Hall and, with Salah drawing away Burn, he passed inside to Federico Chiesa. Malick Thiaw stepped up to Chiesa, forcing Livramento inside to pick up Szoboszlai, so when the Hungarian dummied Salah’s pass, 16 year-old Rio Ngumoha was left completely free at the back post, firing his finish in the opposite direction to where Pope was going.
It was a pretty terrible performance from Liverpool, yet they still managed to escape with the three points.
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