Photo: PA/ Owen Humphreys
After their first win of the season against Bournemouth, the Reds faced one of the most daunting Premier League fixtures there is – Newcastle away. Luckily, Liverpool’s history against the Magpies offered a source of optimism, as they had not lost to Newcastle since December 2015, and were the only team to beat them at home and away in the Premier League last season.
Liverpool could obviously not rely on history repeating itself, however, as Newcastle’s 5-1 thrashing of Aston Villa at St James’ Park two weeks prior demonstrated just how miserable away games against the Magpies can be. Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Jurgen Klopp acknowledged the danger Newcastle present. “Newcastle is a very strong team”, he stated, “super intense style, super atmosphere up there”.
In a similar vein, Eddie Howe recognised the strength of Newcastle’s opponent in his pre-match press conference, labelling Liverpool as “an elite team [with] an elite manager”. He admitted that last season’s two defeats against Liverpool were “painful”, as he looked to secure his first win over Liverpool as Newcastle manager, and his first win over Jurgen Klopp since his Bournemouth side beat Liverpool 4-3 in December 2016.
Despite holding their nerve and playing a promising opening four minutes of the Super Sunday fixture, the hostility from the array of Newcastle fans surrounding the pitch eventually piled immense strain on Liverpool. In the 6th minute, after being pushed off of the pitch by Anthony Gordon, Alexander-Arnold was booked for throwing the ball in frustration when John Brooks denied Liverpool a free kick.
Not even a minute later, Alexander-Arnold brought Anthony Gordon down with an outstretched arm, to which the stadium erupted, demanding that he be sent off. While the challenge was arguably a bookable foul, Brooks seemed to feel that the two offences combined did not merit a dismissal, and so Alexander-Arnold remained on the pitch, much to Newcastle’s dismay. “I thought it was a clear second yellow card”, Eddie Howe stated in his post-match press-conference.
This duel between the two young Scouse players was far from over, however. In the 25th minute, Alexander-Arnold failed to control Salah’s (awkward) pass back to him, prompting Anthony Gordon to immediately pounce and capitalise on the mistake, slotting the ball past Alisson and into the back of the Liverpool net.
With the Magpies already 1-0 up, Liverpool’s task soon went from being difficult to seemingly impossible, as two minutes later, Van Dijk’s clumsy last-man challenge on Alexander Isak saw him receive his first ever red card as a Liverpool player. The Liverpool skipper was visibly outraged with the decision, but after a quick VAR check, he was sent off, leaving Liverpool with only ten men.
After the Reds successfully defended Newcastle’s subsequent free kick and resultant corner, Gomez came on in the 33rd minute to replace Diaz, who had actually looked like Liverpool’s biggest attacking asset for the first period of the game.
For the remaining minutes of the first half, Klopp’s ten-man Liverpool side fought to prevent Newcastle from extending their lead, with Alisson making a spectacular save to deny Miguel Almiron a goal. The shot came from fifteen yards out with oodles of power, but the Brazilian goalkeeper pushed it out and towards the post, before swiping it away decisively.
After failing to capitalise on a few opportunities to level the score with free kicks in the closing minutes, Liverpool headed into half-time 1-0 down. Nonetheless, they had done well to prevent the scoreline from becoming even worse before the break.
In the opening ten minutes of the second half, the Reds continued to offer a robust defensive performance, with Gomez making a couple of crucial clearances and challenges to keep Newcastle at bay.
In the 58th minute, Klopp brought on Elliott to replace Endo, who had dealt impressively with the adverse circumstances in his first start for Liverpool, and Jota to replace Gakpo. This change immediately sparked more decisive attacking pressure from Liverpool, with Jota making an excellent cross towards Salah in the Newcastle box just two minutes later, although it was swiftly intercepted and cleared by Joelinton.
The turning point of the game was arguably Eddie Howe’s substitution in the 72nd minute, at which point he replaced Anthony Gordon and Sandro Tonali, Newcastle’s most crucial and impressive players up until that point in the game, with Harvey Barnes and Sean Longstaff. He also brought Callum Wilson on to replace Alexander Isak.
Despite the numerical advantage that Newcastle had over Liverpool, they continued to miss opportunities to score a second goal and cement their win, as Miguel Almiron’s 76th minute attempt on goal bounced off of the post. After Nunez and Quansah had come on for Mac Allister and Matip, this theme continued for Newcastle in the 79th minute, when Harvey Barnes’ indecisiveness in front of goal caused him to hesitate long enough for his chance to disappear.
After hanging on with ten men since Van Dijk’s 27th-minute red card, Liverpool finally pounced in the 81st minute, when Alexander-Arnold delivered a perfectly weighted ball towards Salah, who gently sent it into Jota’s path. Jota then passed it forward for Nunez, and after Sven Botman failed to clear it, the Uruguayan striker buried it into the back of the net, sending the Liverpool fans up in the gods into delirium.
While Liverpool would have undoubtedly celebrated a point given the circumstances, the addition of five minutes of stoppage time meant that the game was still there to be won. In the third of those five minutes, Elliott managed to intercept a slightly sloppy pass from Bruno Guimarāes, projecting it towards Salah, who provided Nunez with a brilliantly timed ball. In virtually the same position as he had found himself just 12 minutes prior, Nunez struck the ball emphatically to hit the back of the net again and win the game for the Reds.
And so, in the most difficult of circumstances, Liverpool managed to walk away from St James’ Park with all 3 points, displaying a magnificent team performance which undoubtedly indicates that Liverpool should not be underestimated this season. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Klopp expressed his admiration for how his team played. “In my more than one thousand games as a manager […] I never had a game like this […] with ten men we played better and gave Newcastle a proper game”, he told reporters. Eddie Howe was unsurprisingly disappointed with the result, admitting that it was “as painful as the game last year at Anfield”.
Of course, the season has only just begun, but Liverpool’s ability to grind out a win away at St James’ Park with only ten men is surely a sign that they are ready to tackle the inevitable challenges that lie ahead.
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