Newcastle United vs. Liverpool: 6 Things We Learned
Try as they might, Liverpool were unable to secure three points at St. James’s Park as dogged defending from the 10-man hosts secured a 2-2 draw for Newcastle on Saturday.
On a ground where they won 6-0 last season, the Reds started unconvincingly and fell behind when Yohan Cabaye blasted in a bouncing shot from distance which deceived Simon Mignolet.
Things took a turn for the better for Liverpool just before half-time, though, as Luis Suarez was hauled down by Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa and the Frenchman was sent off. Steven Gerrard converted the subsequent penalty for his 100th Premier League goal.
Many would have expected the Reds to go on and win the game in the second half, but slack defending allowed Newcastle’s Welsh substitute Paul Dummett to score his first Premier League goal just after the break, and suddenly Liverpool were up against it.
They pushed to get back into the game and grabbed an equaliser when Suarez’s excellent cross was headed in by Daniel Sturridge from close range for his seventh league goal of the season.
Now pushing for a winner in what was a fine game, Liverpool almost grabbed one in stoppage time only for Tim Krul to tip away Suarez’s free-kick.
Here are six lessons learned from an afternoon on which the Reds will feel they dropped two points.
No Victory for Victor Moses
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With Philippe Coutinho closing in a return to action―and how the Reds missed the Brazilian here―Victor Moses will know that his position at the head of the Reds midfield could be coming under threat.
Performances like this one won’t help his case, though, as the Nigerian too often gave possession away and failed to link up with Suarez and Sturridge up front.
One bad display shouldn’t see the Chelsea loanee written off, though. But with Coutinho pencilled in for a comeback soon following his shoulder injury sustained in Liverpool’s draw at Swansea, another 2-2, he might just find it tough to hold down a place in the team should Brendan Rodgers persist with his current formation.
Steven Gerrard Joins the 100 Club
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What a footballer Steven Gerrard is.
In the same week that he scored the goal which confirmed England’s place at the World Cup, here he was becoming the 24th man to pass 100 Premier League goals with his pressure penalty in the closing moments of the first half at St James’s.
Playing in a more withdrawn role in recent times may see his capacity for scoring the odd screamer reduced somewhat, but the captain is still the heart and soul of his team and did more than anyone else to try to turn one point into three here―with the possible exception of Suarez.
The SAS Can Be Silent but Deadly
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Even when they haven’t quite clicked to perfection, the Suarez-Sturridge partnership can still cause teams problems.
The former was his usual effervescent self here, but Sturridge wasn’t at his best for much of a contest in which Liverpool struggled to create many chances in the first half.
That changed in the second period, though, and the Englishman was on hand to swoop to head in Suarez’s clever cross for the Reds’ second equaliser of the game.
Either one or both of the pair have now scored in seven of Liverpool’s eight league games this season, and with Sturridge out on his own as the division’s top scorer he only looks like getting more and more deadly.
Newcastle Have Improved in Six Months
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Last April’s 6-0 humbling at the hands of the Reds at St. James’s was Newcastle’s worst home result since 1925, and it raised serious questions about the direction that Alan Pardew was taking the club.
Fast forward six months, though, and the silver-haired boss looks to have instilled a new confidence and belief in his players, who were up for this from the first whistle and got what many felt was a deserved goal when Yohan Cabaye blasted in from range.
This tenacity was even more evident after the red card for Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa―although anyone who saw his display against Everton recently could suggest that the hosts were better off without him―and in the end there were plenty of reasons to suggest that the hosts deserved their point.
That is up for debate, but what surely can’t be denied is that anyone who had Newcastle down as potential relegation fodder is likely to be proved wrong.
Yohan Cabaye: All Is Forgiven
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After his summer flirtation with Arsenal, Newcastle fans had appeared to have fallen out of love with Yohan Cabaye, but a couple of long-range strikes against Merseyside clubs appears to have changed all that.
He scored a fine goal at Everton after coming on as a half-time substitute, but his quality was evident from the start here—and none more so that when his swerving, bouncing shot beat Simon Mignolet and gave the hosts the lead in fine style.
On this evidence it is easy to see why clubs the calibre of Arsenal coveted him, but if Newcastle can keep hold of the stylish French international, then a top-half finish isn’t out of the question.
Liverpool Need to Be Winning Games Like This
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If Liverpool want to be among the top four teams at the end of the season, and not just talk about being so, then they’ll need to take advantage of situations like this one.
Playing against 10 men for an entire second half should have seen them create more chances than they did, and although the result wasn’t too disastrous in the end, those two points lost could come back to haunt them come May.
It was a real C+ of an afternoon for Rodgers and the Reds, and the only way to go from there is pretty simple to work out.
Must do better.
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