It wasn’t pretty at times, but Liverpool walked away from St James’ Park with a point that could look very handy come May.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s 99th-minute penalty rescued a 2-2 draw for Andoni Iraola’s side, keeping up an impressive opening-day unbeaten record that goes back to 2012.
It was a proper Premier League match, full of high drama and plenty of mistakes.
Slow Start and Counter-Attack Troubles
Liverpool started poorly. Just five minutes in, Ryan Gravenberch lost the ball high up the pitch, and Anthony Elanga made them pay with a fast break to put Newcastle ahead.
Cody Gakpo dragged the Reds back into it ten minutes into the second half with a fantastic long-range strike. But just three minutes later, it was dynamic counter-attacking football again from Newcastle. Gravenberch was dispossessed once more, and substitute Joe Willock finished off the move to send the home fans wild.
Liverpool pushed until the very end. New boy Victor Muñoz came off the bench and won a late penalty after being brought down by Lewis Hall. Szoboszlai stepped up under massive pressure and smashed it home.
Iraola Backs Gravenberch
The big talking point after the game was Liverpool’s defensive setup. With Gravenberch playing high up the pitch, the two centre-backs were left completely exposed on the counter. But Iraola wasn’t buying the idea during his post match press conference that his midfielder was solely to blame:
“I think it’s just not personnel. I understand, you are telling me basically that Ryan Gravenberch is the six and he is on the edge of the box, but if he shoots and he scores we are saying what a play from Ryan Gravenberch. I also don’t want to take this from his game, but we have to adapt as a team to these situations and we have to know that these situations can happen. I think the second goal probably we did better in terms of having the numbers to defend, we don’t make the foul, go to the first challenge, probably reduce the distance with the ball carrier, so it’s an incredible goal. Situations [are] just not because one person is playing there, [it] is something that we have to correct between a lot of players.”
Defensive Lessons Learned
Iraola wants his team to press high and win the ball back early, but this game showed what happens when that plan breaks down. Neither centre-back stepped out to stop the first goal, though the boss felt the second goal was down to a lack of aggression rather than tactical positioning:
“It’s not a big surprise [when] you face Newcastle, one of the fastest top lines in the league probably in terms of speed I think. There are different reasons why we conceded both goals, even though both are transitions. The first one I think we should just finish the play. I think we created a great chance. I think it’s a four-v-three, we are on the edge of the box and it’s a clear situation to shoot. We decide not to shoot, we don’t finish it properly and then you have to give credit to Elanga, who wins the race. Second one, I think we had the numbers to defend it better. It’s not like they caught us by surprise. First one, you can argue with this [but] second one we had numbers, but we don’t defend it properly. We should compete for the first ball, probably even make a foul, be a little bit more aggressive against the ball carrier because we had numbers to defend it.”
Encouraging Signs
Despite the defensive errors, a draw at a tough ground like St James’ Park is far from a disaster. Iraola is still undefeated at Newcastle as a manager, and he saw plenty of positives from his players:
“I think it’s difficult because they told me probably the stats are for us in terms of we’ve created more and [had] better chances and this. But it’s true that they can say, ‘OK, we were winning, so we didn’t need to push, we were defending our result.’ I’ve liked a lot of things about the team in terms of putting pressure [on]. I think [in] the first half we haven’t finished the things – we’ve had a lot of balls on the edge of the box, inside the box, where we haven’t finished the play, we haven’t shot. Actually, they punished us in the first goal because we don’t finish it and it’s a clear chance. I think [in the] second half we’ve been more decisive – I think [in] the goal from Cody but also we put a lot more pressure [on], we create more set-plays, more crosses, more things inside the box. I think it’s a reward. It’s not a lot, one point, but at least it’s something that is deserved.”
The Verdict
It is early days under Iraola. Transitioning to a new system takes time, and teething problems are bound to happen when playing such a high-risk style.
The squad clearly has character, as shown by Muñoz’s impactful cameo and Szoboszlai’s cool head at the death. But if Liverpool want to compete at the very top this season, tightening up that midfield transition will be priority number one.
With Nottingham Forest visiting Anfield next, Iraola has the perfect chance to claim his first league win as Reds boss.
