We asked Davey Hat-Trick to give us his match ratings and player commentary after Liverpool 4 Newcastle 1.
I’m getting tired of this. We go to Anfield, play quite well, get nothing out of the game. A story as old as time. For once I would like us to play poorly and win.
I wouldn’t go so far as to say Newcastle United deserved to win this game… but 4-1 isn’t a fair reflection of the game I saw.
We were the better team for much of the evening (and after Harvey Barnes’ shot went into the goal via a post, things could have turned out differently), but there were two key areas of difference.
Liverpool had the players to hurt us, we didn’t have the players to hurt them. And we made some crucial defensive mistakes; our hosts do not.
It was a tough task, not least because these players put a lot into the match. Like they did in Paris on Wednesday, and I’m sure they will do the same at Manchester City in four days’ time. We’ll be playing twice a week for the foreseeable future, and I don’t see this team being able to cope when a high-intensity pressing game is our preferred mode, and especially when all the hard work has been for naught.
We have no cover for Lewis Hall, apart from Alex Murphy, who is primarily a centre-half. Kieran Trippier cannot cope with such a schedule and we are light in both midfield and defence. I’m afraid we’ll run out of strength and/or suffer more injuries. I’m surprised we didn’t at least visit the transfer market in January. Eddie Howe has the team competing in four competitions. I think he deserves better support.
Anyway, as far as this game goes, it’s hard to single out some players. Malick Thiaw, for example, was excellent for most of the match but was caught napping before at least one Liverpool goal. Likewise, Nick Pope was doing well until he gifted Konate his goal…
Nick Pope 6
Played well for the most part, made some decent saves and couldn’t do much in Liverpool’s first three goals.
Completely blameworthy for their 4th. I hope it doesn’t affect his self-confidence.
Kieran Trippier6
Worked hard, decent on the ball, but it looks like his legs are gone. Overtaken a few times, including for a couple of Liverpool goals.
Malick Thiaw6
Strange game for Thiaw.
Some great blocks, tackles and interceptions, but he looked static on a few Liverpool goals. Must concentrate for the entire 90 minutes.
And Brand 7
For the most part it turned out great, in my opinion.
Has his mind on everything he should be doing, except someone whose pace is lacking.
One of many Newcastle players who allowed Liverpool’s 4th to trickle over the line.
Lewis Hall 8
Our best player – perhaps the only Newcastle player to have had a good night.
The usual mix of tenacious defending and skills on the ball. The score wasn’t his fault.
Jacob Ramsey6
Played fine, but nothing more than that.
Effective in the first 30 minutes, but faded after that.
Sandro Tonali6
I’m tempted to give Sandro a five because he seemed far removed from the player we fell in love with.
It seems he has lost 20% of his fighting spirit and 30% of his self-confidence. Looked lost at times.
Joe Willock7
Our best midfielder for the second game in a row.
Ran into Liverpool’s defense in the first half and they didn’t like it. Unsurprisingly, he ran out of strength in the second half and was eliminated.
Anthony Elanga 6
I don’t want to be too harsh on Elanga as I have noticed an improvement in his form in recent weeks. However, he should have done a lot more in this match.
Kerkez seemed to have the upper hand in the first half and then gave up a bit.
Anthony Gordon 7
I was a bit dejected when I saw that AG was in the lead while we had three attackers on the bench. But he was lively, scored a well-taken goal and was a threat when Newcastle were on top in the opening 30 minutes.
But Liverpool’s defense learned to deal with him and then he disappeared.
Harvey Barnes7
Game, and was close to scoring twice.
One of the few players who did not run out of steam – or ideas – in the second half.
SUBS
Jacob Murphy4
The game was over by the time Eddie introduced his subs and it’s hard to find yourself on a team that has given up.
So Murphy, along with the rest of the subs, was ineffective.
Nick Woltemade4
Some nice details, but we needed more than nice details.
Yoane Wassa4
No impact, but that’s not just his fault.
Will Osula N/A (Not active long enough to review)
Looked lively, but not enough time to have any effect on the game
Alex Murphy N/A (not active long enough to review)
I’m not sure what he – or Eddie – got out of this, other than a few minutes of first-team experience.
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