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Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool : A game of two halves

At the start of the season, dropping two points in an away fixture as loaded as this one might have been deemed acceptable by most Liverpool fans. Certainly no one expected another 6-0.

Liverpool will now be judged by their excellent progress since, however; so while Newcastle will count this as a point well earned, Liverpool will be frustrated at dropping two. Nothing manifested this change in attitude like Daniel Sturridge, who, after scoring Liverpool’s second equalizer (and the game’s last goal), collected the ball and ran to the half-line instead of his usual elaborate celebration.

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Brendan Rodgers stuck to his 3-4-1-2 against Newcastle’s  4-1-4-1, deploying Victor Moses  in the hole behind the strikers and pairing Gerrard and Henderson in central midfield. Alan Pardew opted to start without a proper centre-forward, although Hatem ben Arfa played an increasingly advanced role as the game progressed.

Newcastle: Krul; Debuchy, Yanga-Mbiwa, Santon, Williamson; Cabaye, Tiote, Sissoko; Gouffran, Ben Arfa, Remy.
Liverpool: Mignolet; Johnson, Cissokho, Toure, Skrtel, Sakho; Henderson, Gerrard, Moses; Suarez, Sturridge.

First half

It would be tempting to say that Liverpool were outgunned in the first half. While they enjoyed more of the possession, they spent much of the opening half an hour inside their own half and weren’t really able to get going.

But while Newcastle looked the better side with eleven men, their dominance was somewhat superficial. While Pardew may have intended to confuse Liverpool’s three CBs by not fielding a central striker, they had no attacking onus centrally. Steven Gerrard shadowed Hatem ben Arfa throughout and ensured the Frenchman had a quiet game. Loic Remy frequently attempted to cut inside, but was usually dealt with by Henderson on the right. Often, the home side won the ball in midfield, preventing an outlet for the Reds to release the pressure – but all too often this possession was squandered, only to start the process again.

Newcastle repeatedly charged down the flanks – looking to pressurize Glen Johnson and Aly Cissokho, both returning from injury and playing their first game with the 3-5-2. But their cutbacks were dealt with easily. Martin Skrtel led the defence well, allowing Toure and Sakho to occasionally move forward and bolster numbers in midfield. Newcastle’s players rarely made runs into the box, preferring to hoof shots (often on target) over the heads of the defence.

 

That was how the first goal was scored in the 23rd minute, with Yohan Cabaye brilliantly firing a shot from over 30 yards away. It drifted crazily in mid-air, throwing Simon Mignolet off-balance before settling into the bottom left corner; evoking memories of another swerving Newcastle goal, by Papiss Cisse against Chelsea two seasons ago. “No keeper in the world could have stopped that,” said Pardew later, and he was probably correct.

Liverpool should have been spurred to action by this – but even now, it took them ten minutes to get moving. But when they got numbers forward, they made it count. As we’ve already seen, Liverpool’s pace – coupled with Gerrard’s long-ball ability – makes them strong on the break, and Newcastle’s brittle defence was tested thrice in a matter of minutes.

The second time it happened resulted in a red card in the 42nd minute, with Yanga-Mbiwa hauling down Suarez in the box.

While the Uruguayan went down a little too quickly, it was a clear 1-vs-1 situation between Suarez and Krul at the back, which qualifies for denial of a goalscoring opportunity. Yanga-Mbiwa was reacting after being caught out of position (although Cheick Tiote, who played Suarez onside, deserves some of the blame). With a penalty awarded, Gerrard put it away for his 100th Premier League goal, and soon afterwards came close with another shot. Suddenly, the tempo had shifted.

Second half

We’ll never know if the one-man disadvantage had something to do with Newcastle moving to more defensive positions in this half, or it was a continuation of the two-halves pattern we’ve seen from them all season. Either way, Liverpool got more breathing space and were able to play keep-ball for longer periods. Gerrard moved deeper and started playing long diagonals to the advancing wingbacks, while Moses played further forward and more centrally. The tempo had shifted, but it was by no means advantage Liverpool as yet; it was still very much an equal contest.

However, Liverpool looked the more likely to score, which is why the 58th minute goal by Paul Dummett – who had come on for Sissoko as Pardew rearranged his field after Mbiwa’s expulsion – took everyone by surprise. It raises further questions about Liverpool’s set-piece defending. This one was comical in nature, with Sakho and Cissokho looking at each other in angry bewilderment after Dummett – alone and utterly unmolested – walked forward to head the ball in. Rodgers changed the formation: Luis Alberto was brought on for Sakho and Liverpool moved to a 4-4-2.

With Suarez, Sturridge and Moses all piling forward, and their tank running dry after all that first half pressing, Newcastle’s midfield was forced back into a defensive shape. Legs were starting to tire on both sides, but no shoulders were dropping – yet. A long ball by Gerrard in the 64th minute caused panic in the Newcastle box, ending with a careless header back to Tim Krul.

Newcastle’s one-man disadvantage and defensive vulnerabilities meant, though, that they could withstand only so much pressure. When the goal did come – Suarez drawing defenders away to the left before cutting back for Sturridge to head it in – it looked as though Liverpool, with momentum on their side, might just find a winner in the last 17 minutes.

They got several chances, from different angles, with Alberto occasionally slipping in Coutinho-esque through balls that Sturridge, Suarez, Henderson and Moses contrived to shoot wide or high. There was no let-up until the final play of the game, when Krul athletically parried a Suarez free-kick to preserve a hard-won point.

Summary

Matches between these two sides have traditionally been dicey (it is the highest scoring fixture in Premier League history), and, on the balance, all-square was a fair result. Newcastle played to their strengths (attack) by pressing aggressively and winning the ball in midfield, pinning Liverpool back during the first half. Although the last 20 minutes went rather differently, they had done enough by then to hold honours even.

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