Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool: Match Analysis
Liverpool’s winning streak of two games on the trot was brought to a halt by ten-men Newcastle as goals from Daniel Sturridge and Steven Gerrard weren’t enough to secure victory at St James Park in the early Saturday kick-off. Newcastle twice led the game, first through Yohan Cabaye’s superb long-range strike and then Paul Dummett’s strike after a set-piece disaster for the Reds as they secured a valuable point in the aftermath of Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa’s sending off. Key Stats 
Liverpool dominated much of the game as they threw the kitchen sink at the home side in search of a winner, with Steven Gerrard in imperious form. But the makeshift defence of Dummet and Mike Williamson was enough to keep the Reds at bay. From the statistics above, it’s clear that Brendan Rodgers’ side enjoyed superiority over Newcastle – especially once Yanga -Mbiwa was given his marching orders. With 56% of the possession, the Reds completed 85% of their passes, and had 21 shots and won 13 corners over the course of the game.
Man of the Match:
Steven Gerrard’s revival as a deep-lying playmaker continues with another fine performance, earning an outstanding Squawka Performance Score of 74. This was underpinned by an outstanding 89% pass completion rate as he dictated play from deep, taking advantage of the superb movement by the attackers in front. Furthermore, Gerrard also made six key passes, more than any player for either side.
Steven Gerrard Passes v Newcastle (89% Pass Accuracy)
He also won all four of his tackles and made three clearances to help his defence out when Newcastle attacked on the counter.
Overall, the midfielder was heads and shoulders above any other player on the pitch with only the goalscoring Paul Dummett (44) even approaching his score of 74. Brendan Rodgers will be pleased with the Liverpool talisman’s latest display.
Performance Score
The two teams enjoyed a tightly contested opening 20 minutes before Yohan Cabaye’s stunner gave Newcastle the lead and the advantage in terms of their Performance Score. But Yanga-Mbiwa’s sending off was the crucial moment of the game as Newcastle forfeited any advantage they held and Liverpool dominated from then on, the Reds completed 520 passes over the whole 90 minutes, compared to Newcastle’s 278 passes. Unfortunately for Rodgers, the Reds failed to take the opportunities handed to them by a frail Magpies defence and will be wondering what could have been.
Key Observations
It was a case of new personnel, same old problems for the Liverpool boss as set-pieces proved to be Liverpool’s undoing yet again. Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho and Aly Cissokho were all culpable for Newcastle’s second goal while the Reds midfield were nowhere to be seen as Cabaye lined up to strike home the first. Rodgers will see both goals as entirely avoidable, but the real concern will be the Liverpool midfield, in the absence of Philippe Coutinho. Victor Moses‘ energy and fervour is admirable but the Nigerian is not a No.10 and Reds supporters will be eager to see Coutinho back in the first-team in order to link up the midfield and attack. The gaps in the centre of the park is a source of concern to supporters and Rodgers will have taken note of how easily Newcastle found space to run directly at the Liverpool defence. A better team may have made more of the chances the Magpies had.