That was a cool watch. One of those paradoxical performances where you think: how do we lose 4–1? But also: we probably deserve this.
When Eddie House released the lineup, I was initially baffled.
Willock and Ramsey either side of Tonali, no recognized striker, no Botman, it wasn’t clear what we were trying to achieve. But after a moment it started to make sense: legs, energy, pressure and the ability to maintain intensity.
This wasn’t about control through possession; it was about disrupting Liverpool’s build-up and forcing chaos higher up the pitch.
It worked for half an hour.
We pressed a narrow 4-3-3/4-1-4-1 hybrid, with Willock and Ramsey aggressively jumping on Liverpool Gravenberch and Mac Allister, with Tonali anchored behind them. Barnes and Elanga chased the full backs as they blocked passing lanes into midfield, forcing the play wide of Salah and Gakpo, where Trippier and Hall were able to step up. In possession, Willock repeatedly attacked the left half to get overloaded alongside Barnes, while Gordon’s movement pulled the defenders out of shape. Barnes hitting the post from a smart free-kick was almost a reward for our really solid opening volley.
Liverpool gradually adapted, pushing Szoboszlai into midfield more often and pulling our press forward, but we were still looking to the sharper side. Then Anthony Gordon scored the goal we deserved: 0-1 after 36 minutes. At that point, the game state was exactly what we wanted it to be.
That clearly wouldn’t last.
The equalizer came at a time that summed up our defensive vulnerability. Wirtz was able to drive through the right half because our midfield line had become separated from the back four – the defensive line was too far from the midfield. Trippier’s slip was disastrous and gave Wirtz the space he needed to find Ekitike, but the warning signs were already there: as the distances increased, Liverpool suddenly had space to attack the box with speed.
Two minutes later we were punished again. I don’t know what our defensive structure should have been from our corner, but the one we left Tonali isolated and Hall too deep – and Liverpool switched immediately. One simple pass and they were through. Thiaw had enough time to engage Ekitike, but he left it far too late and allowed him to walk through unchallenged.
The second half followed a familiar pattern. We had territory and effort, but little incision. Without a natural striker, our possession often stalled in the final third. Crosses were delayed, dig opportunities were not taken and Liverpool were able to defend the central areas comfortably. Gordon’s half-chance came from a transition rather than a sustained build-up, while Barnes’ best effort was too close to Alisson.
Defensively we were largely fine in open play, but individual actions continued to undermine the collective structure. Burn’s poor touch almost earned Ekitike a hat-trick, and when that didn’t happen it felt like a temporary reprieve rather than a turning point. On 67 minutes a sloppy pass from Thiaw to Trippier caused another turnover, Liverpool pushed the ball wide and Dan Burn wandered away from Wirtz, who he had initially closed on the edge of the penalty area. Giving a player like Wirtz eight meters of space twelve meters from the goal is asking for trouble. He rightly scored: 3-1.
The fourth goal was a separate problem. Goalkeeping errors at key moments have become part of the story this season and I really don’t feel I need to say more than that. It was a shame for Pope, because he had been doing fine up until that point.
At 3–1, Eddie Howe finally proved he reads my articles on The Mag by bringing on Wissa and Woltemade.
Woltemade operated as a true 10, finding pockets between the lines, while Wissa occupied the central defenders higher up. The difference was immediately noticeable: we played the ball more cleanly and built up a number of promising situations. Then the execution failed: hasty passes, bad decisions and attacks that died just as they became dangerous.
Here the season keeps repeating itself. We can handle it well at one pace, but struggle when the game speeds up. When an opponent increases the intensity, we seem unable to change ours, and we become completely confused. I hate going up by one zero these days. It’s less about tactics and more about managing moments – something the best sides do instinctively.
To Howe’s credit, he searches. In the last week alone we’ve seen 4-3-3, 5-4-1 and 4-2-3-1. There is a willingness to adapt. The solutions so far are not.
Yes, it’s another game with Joelinton and Bruno available. Different again with a fully fit Botman, or with Miley or Tino providing control over the right back. But that’s elite football. Everyone has injuries. The top teams compensate for this through structure and decision-making.
We didn’t. We caused too many of our own problems and Liverpool had the quality and ruthlessness to make us pay for most of them.
#Newcastle #United #Paradox.. #season #continues #repeat