By Ahmed AlAsfoor
Isak Saga Dominates the Headlines
The Isak saga dominated the headlines throughout the summer window. It went to social media when the PFA Awards were announced, where the Swedish striker didn’t attend the event. He posted an Instagram story explaining his current position. Newcastle’s board didn’t hold back and responded aggressively to his remarks a week prior to the game scheduled at St. James’ Park between the two champions.
Liverpool won the Premier League last term, while Newcastle managed to beat the Reds at Wembley last March in the League Cup final, where Dan Burn and Alexander Isak were on the scoresheet to secure their first domestic trophy in 70 years. That win was a significant achievement for the Toon, showing real progress for Eddie Howe’s journey under the new Saudi investment management known as PIF.
Lineups and Early Adjustments
The lineups of both teams were missing some key players. New signing Jeremie Frimpong missed out due to an injury picked up last week, while Alexis Mac Allister was out due to personal reasons. Liverpool’s manager had to make some adjustments to his formation, where Dominik Szoboszlai gained his first experience as right-back with the Reds.
The home side also had to adjust their forward line by placing Anthony Gordon as a false nine, as the Northeast side is still looking in the market for a new centre-forward.
Newcastle Dominate Early
Starting the game was difficult for the Reds, as Newcastle were bullying Liverpool in the first half-hour, applying all the pressure and capitalizing on the home-ground advantage with fans cheering for every tackle, throw-in, and set piece won by the Toon boys.
Smash & Grav
Forty-five minutes of chaos: Liverpool committed 9 fouls in the first 29 minutes, the most in their Premier League history. It was really hard for the Reds to gain any momentum until the 34th minute, when they managed to calm themselves in the process. A few passes here and there between Arne Slot’s boys provided Ryan Gravenberch the platform to hit them where it hurts when he scored on his return to the lineup, firing Liverpool ahead to open the scoring.
Having not been in the game at all, Liverpool scored from their first shot on target to take the lead at St. James’ Park. The crowd’s voice went a little bit down as their team trailed the visitors. On the other hand, the players didn’t give up and kept going. Such mentality and solidarity showed strong character in this side. That’s exactly what makes the Premier League exciting and thrilling.
Gordon’s Red Card
The home side kept going, pressing the visitors and wanting to get back into the game. Tough challenges and tackles were all over the pitch. The Anthony Gordon challenge on Liverpool skipper Virgil van Dijk saw VAR ask the ref to change his decision from yellow to red, sending the former Everton boy off the pitch in stoppage time of the first half.
Gordon’s walk of shame off the pitch ended with him apologizing to Virgil after the game, claiming he didn’t mean to hurt the Dutch defender. It was really a wild and late challenge—considered by the ref as serious foul play.
Ekitike Strikes Early
Newcastle going 1–0 and a man down in the first half was not the result the home side was looking for. Coming back for the restart, the visitors needed only 20 seconds to get their second goal of the night by the French striker, making it 3 out of 3 starts for the Reds.
Hugo Ekitike’s goal was missed even by the manager, who was still in the tunnel coming back from the dressing room. Arne Slot couldn’t believe it!
Newcastle Fight Back
While the home side were a man down, they had to use a different approach to get back into the game. The key plan was to utilize every dead-ball situation they got: set pieces consisting of corners, throw-ins, and even fouls no matter how far from the visitors’ end.
A long throw-in provided a good opportunity for Tino Livramento’s perfect delivery to Bruno Guimarães, who arrived in the box and won a header over Liverpool’s new left-back Milos Kerkez, giving the home side hope to get back into the game in the 57th minute.
That goal brought the crowd’s spirit back into play and helped 10-man Newcastle push the 11-man Liverpool back. A quick reminder of how emotions play a major role in football.
Injuries and Substitutions
Some shake-ups had to be made by Eddie Howe to help the cause. Injury after injury as the battle continued to be fierce and feisty.
• Sandro Tonali had to come off the pitch due to a shoulder injury, with Lewis Miley coming on in his place.
• Another injury saw Joelinton come off, replaced by the new arrival from Villa Park, Jacob Ramsey.
• Malick Thiaw also earned his debut for the home side due to Fabian Schär’s head injury.
A bruising night for the home side.
Osula Levels the Game
More set pieces meant more threat to Alisson’s net. Liverpool defended these threats with discipline and strength, usually positioning themselves deep, protecting their 18-yard box with enthusiasm.
Another set piece taken by the home goalkeeper saw Liverpool holding a high line for the first time in the game, resulting in them conceding the goal that levelled the game through the Toon’s substitute, William Osula, scoring his first-ever Premier League goal for Newcastle.
The Final Twist
Eleven minutes of stoppage time gave the game more flair and action. Rio Ngumoha, 16 years old, made his first Premier League appearance for the Reds as Arne Slot looked to bring something different in the last six minutes of added time.
He made an instant impression by taking on a 1v1 right away from his first touch. Then, Liverpool tried to keep possession for a few minutes, from the goalkeeper to every outfield player. A combination of passes and a dummy from Dominik Szoboszlai gave the 16-year-old a chance to win the game, and he took it really well.
It was described as a composed finish, firing the ball into Nick Pope’s net. A goal that put him in the history books as the youngest teenager to score a Premier League winner, giving the home side heartbreak considering their great performance throughout the whole game.
Post-Match Reactions
After the game, Virgil admitted that it is a tough place to come, and conceding two goals from set pieces is frustrating. He also acknowledged Newcastle’s quality in this area.
Rio explained his goal was due to his academy coaches always telling him to make the back post, and the fact he made the back post meant he was gifted and rewarded for what he learned and trained for.
Gravenberch described the game as crazy and praised the teenager, saying he works really hard and is confident that he can be even better.
Arne Slot’s opinion about the game was that he didn’t see a football match, as he criticized the home side’s approach, while also admitting the high-line call that caused the conceded goal was his responsibility and the coaching staff’s decision to go high on that particular set piece.
iAsfoor 