The Premier League witnessed one of the most entertaining games of the season so far, with Liverpool securing a crucial last-minute win against Newcastle United at St. James Park after a continuous chase that lasted throughout the game and deep into stoppage time.
Liverpool secured their second win of the season, following their initial victory against Bournemouth, which allows them to continue progressing and improving their weaknesses with less pressure, despite criticism regarding their performance against Newcastle.
It is also very beneficial to gain all 3 points this weekend, given that their potential title rivals, including Manchester City, Manchester United, and Chelsea, all failed to collect six points from the two initial games.
It is true that the value of these two wins cannot be fully appreciated at the moment, but their importance will certainly matter at the end of the season, when each point can be the difference between Premier League Champion and runner-up.
Newcastle’s loss was painful and did not really reflect what this team deserved, as they put on a powerful performance against a tough opponent.
Some individual mistakes, such as the red card, punished Newcastle despite their late comeback in the match and their ability to score two goals to equalise the score.
Attacking-wise, Newcastle were good enough to exploit Liverpool’s defensive mistakes, especially in the air and during set-pieces, and that’s how they succeeded in scoring their two goals.
However, that was not enough for them to avoid the loss.
They failed to resist Liverpool’s last-minute attempts and, due to a marking issue, allowed 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha to score the decisive goal.
In this Newcastle vs Liverpool tactical analysis, the focus will be centred on Newcastle United’s tactics under Eddie Howe and how he exploited their superiority in aerial duels in open play and during set pieces.
The analysis will also shed light on Liverpool style of play under Arne Slot tactics, including efficient shooting from distance and finishing accuracy, as these were the aspects that ultimately made the difference for the Reds.
Newcastle Vs Liverpool Formations
Eddie Howe started the match in a 4-3-3 formation, with Nick Pope as a goalkeeper, Fabian Schär and Dan Burn as centre-backs, Kieran Trippier as a right-back, and Tino Livramento as a left-back.
The midfield consisted of Sandro Tonali as a defensive midfielder, Joelinton and Bruno Guimarães as central midfielders, with Harvey Barnes and the new signing, Anthony Elanga, playing on both wings.
For the striker role, Alexander Isak has not participated in the match mainly due to issues with the club regarding his potential transfer move, which has obliged Howe to rely on an alternative for the season’s opening games.
Opting for Anthony Gordon was Howe’s best possible alternative for now.
Although Gordon is mainly a winger, he has been used as a striker so far this season.
That said, Newcastle will have to seriously consider either resolving the complicated situation with their main striker, Isak, or anticipating the end of the transfer window and aiming to buy one of the available strikers in the market to provide a more natural solution in the striker role.
In fact, Newcastle can even make a more economical and strategic choice by relying on their striker, William Osula, and giving him more playing time to gain confidence and potentially become the team’s main striker.
He may possess the necessary abilities to replace Isak over time.
Being a natural striker would also help him become even more reliable than Gordon for that position, with Gordon becoming the second striker option or moving back to one of the wings.
On the other hand, Arne Slot chose to start the match with the 4-2-3-1 formation using Alisson Becker as a goalkeeper, Ibrahima Konaté and Virgil van Dijk as centre-back, Dominik Szoboszlai as a right-back as he was preferred over Wataru Endo, Joe Gomez, and Curtis Jones mainly thanks to Szoboszlai’s more consistent teamwork in both the attacking and the defensive phases, knowing that Jeremie Frimpong and Conor Bradley were not yet fit to play the game.
On the left side, Slot opted for Milos Kerkez instead of Andy Robertson, and this choice was criticised mainly because Kerkez’s performance was not convincing enough in both Liverpool games.
This suggests that Robertson’s experience would have been more useful to Liverpool, especially in the defensive phase.
The midfield consisted of Ryan Gravenberch and Jones as central midfielders, with the German Florian Wirtz, playing as an advanced playmaker, and Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo as wingers.
At the same time, the main striker was Hugo Ekitike, the new signing from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Newcastle Vs Liverpool Lineups
Newcastle United Exploitation Of Aerial Duels In Open Play & Set-Pieces
Newcastle’s reliance on crossing and search for aerial duels to punish Liverpool’s defence was recurring in this match, with 20 attempted crosses for the Toon compared to 10 for the Reds.
As soon as Newcastle got the chance to advance after resisting Liverpool’s high-pressing attempts, they relied on ball circulation towards both wings, but noticed that Liverpool was securing their defensive lines well.
This allowed Newcastle to keep possession more, in an attempt to create space at the back of the defensive line.
They then used those created spaces to cross and find a receiver inside the box.
Newcastle’s ball possession was often used to distract and tire Liverpool players before launching the through pass at the back of the defensive line.
The player on the wing made the move to anticipate his direct opponent’s marking and reach the ball first.
Newcastle United Possession & Use Of The Wings
This type of action worked well for Newcastle, allowing them to reach the wing and provide crosses to the box.
The following picture highlights how Newcastle succeeded on numerous occasions in attracting Liverpool players by maintaining continuous ball possession before launching a through pass towards the wing.
Elanga’s anticipation of his direct marker made the through pass more efficient as he was able to be first on the ball and provide the needed cross.
Newcastle United Poor Final Pass
Despite the calculated build-up of this action and the exploitation of Liverpool’s high defensive block, the ending was not as impressive as its start, as Elanga failed to provide the cross to the unmarked player, who Barnes was to surprise Joelinton, who was marked, with a pass that the latter failed even to control.
Newcastle could have taken advantage of this situation much better.
It would have been much easier to score the first goal of the match if Elanga had provided a pass or a cross to Barnes, who was completely free in front of Alisson.
Newcastle United Crossing Threats
Newcastle continued to push for opportunities from the wings and came very close to scoring in the 27th minute after Barnes did a great job of beating his direct marker and providing an accurate cross to Gordon, who failed to direct his header accurately or dangerously.
However, this was another sign that confirmed to Newcastle that they are capable of hurting Liverpool through similar actions, including interceptions, ball possession with passes to the wings, eliminating the direct opponent, and crossing and header attempts.
Following several attempts using almost the same strategy, Newcastle succeeded in finding their way to Liverpool’s goal thanks to their players’ powerful physical strength and their ability to be aggressive enough to beat their direct opponents, whether on the ground or in the air.
Newcastle United First Goal
Newcastle’s goal action highlights the determination and physical strength that prevailed throughout the game, even though they were pushed to the limits at times (notably during the red card action).
Guimarães’s movement without the ball, his ability to resist Kerkez’s disturbance, and his victory in the aerial duel against him made the difference for Newcastle following Livramento’s accurate cross to the far post.
Newcastle United Aerial Duels Impact
Newcastle kept pushing for the equaliser And did not alternate their attacking plans, knowing that this was not really the best choice to make as Liverpool’s defence looked a bit fragile during the second-half and a change of plans like the reliance on penetrations from the wings, one-two combinations inside the final third or through passes to the striker at the back of the high defensive line would have been very dangerous on Liverpool’s defence.
Despite the insistence on the same attacking plan, Newcastle were able to equalise mainly thanks to Burn’s excellent ability in the aerial duel against two Liverpool defenders, paving the way for Osula to make the final touch, scoring a late equaliser and adding a lot of drama to the match.
Liverpool Shooting From Distance & Finishing Efficiency
It is true that Liverpool’s performance was not that convincing to many of the game’s followers, and that’s mainly because they failed to secure their advantage despite the opposing numerical inferiority during the second half.
Slot chose to retreat and preserve the lead instead of trying to add a third goal or keep possession, and that’s mainly why they conceded a first and later a second goal that could have punished their choice of defending in the second half.
Liverpool’s high level of concentration during key moments, such as the start of the second half and the final minutes, saved the game.
Exploiting these delicate moments to score the second and third goals highlights Liverpool players’ high confidence and ability to score at any time during the match.
What was crucial as well was the remarkable finishing accuracy with which Liverpool succeeded in concretising their few created chances in this game.
Liverpool Decisive Third Goal Finish
The third decisive goal was scored thanks to the youngster Ngumoha’s crucial finishing abilities and excellent decision-making in a very delicate and risky situation.
Ngumoha received a pass in a goal-scoring situation at the last minute of the game and decided to finish with a first-touch, curved shot to the right corner instead of controlling the ball and giving the goalkeeper more time to react to his shot.
This quick and efficient decision, combined with the player’s ability to shoot the ball without controlling it yet succeed in orienting it with accuracy, highlights not just the player’s strong personality but also his sense of initiative and goalscoring instinct.
Liverpool Shooting From Distance Goal
Furthermore, Liverpool’s players’ outstanding abilities in terms of shooting from distance were the tool they used to punish Newcastle’s defence.
It was very difficult to penetrate inside their box or cut inside and find a shooting trajectory due to Newcastle’s solid defending and tight marking, especially when it comes to Liverpool’s attacking three.
Resorting to shooting from distance was rewarding for Liverpool, as such solutions can always be fruitful in these types of physical games against tough defences.
Gravenberch’s ability to open the score thanks to a powerful yet accurate shot from outside the box highlights the midfielder’s outstanding shooting abilities and the quality of Liverpool’s midfield’s attacking support.
Conclusion
Newcastle deserved to get at least a point from this match, but they were punished for their defensive mistakes in both the second and third goals as they left too much space for Liverpool’s attacking players.
That said, their reliance on aerial duels and determination to get back in the game can only be praised, and it is definitely a good sign for the team in the long run.
However, ahead of the upcoming games, fixing the marking issues and being more prudent in terms of aggressive interceptions are needed.
However, for Liverpool, the win will be very precious for everyone and will definitely give the players more confidence in preserving their league title.
Nevertheless, it will be essential for them to work further on defending set pieces and crosses, as they conceded goals that could have been avoided if their marking had been tighter and more effective.
