NEWCASTLE 2 – 2 LIVERPOOL
Newcastle: Elanga 5’, Willock 57’
Liverpool: Gakpo 55’, Szoboszlai 90+8’ (pen)
Pre-Match
How was your summer? Good? No sunburns? No breakdowns over transfers, or lack thereof? Awesome, because it’s officially over. The Premier League is back and our Reds are back in action. Do we still need to make some signings? Absolutely, but we’re at St. James’ Park with what we have and we’re ready to pay tribute to Kevin Keegan and then hopefully dismantle another sportswashing machine (I know, we shouldn’t throw stones after welcoming Jeff Bezos to our ownership) to kick off the new season with a splash. Which center-back will partner with Virgil? Who is starting on the wings? Which version of Alexis Mac Allister will we get? It’s all time to finally answer those questions, so let’s hit the road.
First Half
Everything kicks off with a gorgeous tribute to one of the legends of the game, Kevin Keegan, who passed last month. The whole stadium gives a minute’s applause to celebrate the life and career of someone who changed both clubs for the better. Liverpool start energetically, taking control of the ball quickly and we’re well underway for Andoni Iraola’s first match for the Reds. The good feelings are shortlived though as Newcastle pounce on a misplaced pass, go on the counter, and score first. There’s a lot of blame to go around for that one, but its still early in the match so hopefully it doesn’t shake them too much mentally.
If you thought that this match would be physical, you were right. Kerkez appears to be taking the brunt of the tackles in these opening ten minutes. Liverpool have had all the possession so far, but despite that keep allowing themselves to get dispossessed before we can do anything with the ball. There’s a brief second when a shot from Wirtz is smartly saved, but the rebound looks like it might go in to no avail. It was Newcastle’s turn to be caught off-guard there but they were a bit luckier than we were.
Liverpool finally catch a break when Wissa pulls Dom Szoboszlai down, earning a yellow card for his efforts and a free kick for us in a good position. Well within Dom’s magic range, and he steps up to take it, but it hits the wall and we’re back to regularly scheduled programming. Even with all of the action, we’re surprisingly not even half an hour in, as both teams battle for an advantage. Liverpool have certainly been marking their men, but so has Newcastle. Kerkez takes a hero ball shot from distance that goes right into the keeper’s arms, when Wirtz was following it in and would’ve been a better pick for him, but oh well.
The biggest surprise is that this squad seems to be playing as if they don’t know each other at all. No one is speaking to each other and balls are getting misplaced left and right because no one knows where they’re supposed to be. Changing systems takes time, sure, but you can’t imagine that this is the type of play someone like Iraola is looking for. There’s a brief moment when we’re able to string more than two passes together to get somewhere, but Gravenberch’s final pass is too heavy and misses its mark. This pitch has to be overwatered, right? That’s why everyone is slipping all over the place? That feels like something they would do to us for the first match of the game.
Second Half
We come back out for the second half with no changes made, because this isn’t preseason anymore, and though Liverpool get in front of goal, their chance is defended well and Newcastle go on a counter before we know what’s going on. Thankfully it doesn’t get very far before we’re able to shut it down, but it’s not the start we want. Liverpool adjust a little more into these opening ten minutes of the second half, taking more possession, but we’re still finding difficulty of weighting passes correctly for where we want them to go, and then being there when they land. At least we don’t look tired yet.
All of that work and FINALLY WE EQUALIZE! CODY GAKPO SHOOTS FROM OUTSIDE THE BOX AND FINDS THE NET! There is that confidence that we need as not even a minute later we get back in position and get close to another goal, but Newcastle go on the counter again, and retake the lead. An hour in and we’re playing catch up once again, struggling with our transition play. It looks like we’re making a change though, with new signing Victor Muñoz coming on for Rio Ngumoha and Alexis Mac Allister coming on for Florian Wirtz. The first official changes under the Iraola regime, and we can only hope that Mac Allister looks better than he did last season.
Newcastle are still focused on making tackles and being really competent at getting away with it, but Alexander Isak goes down outside the box and we win another free kick that gets beautifully lofted into the box, but is caught by the Newcastle keeper. Alisson is unfortunately starting to show his age, and we’re lucky that it hasn’t been 3-1 yet after they get back to test him. Also unfortunately, if there’s any team that knows how to shut down Isak, it’s Newcastle, and the striker has been largely ineffective.
Iraola makes another change in the 70th minute, swapping centerhalves as Jeremy Jacquet comes off for Ronald Araujo and the experiment of which is a better match with Virgil van Dijk keeps going. There is another lucky break as we get right in the face of the goal, even after a Newcastle player takes down one of our own outside the box, but the cross in doesn’t find anyone productive and we’re left wanting again. There’s a little more than fifteen minutes left, and we can only hope for the specter of the team that scored last minute goals before to at least pull a draw from the jaws of defeat. We haven’t lost an opener in a long time, and I’d rather we don’t start now.
Szoboslai has another chance at a free kick just before the 80th minute after Mac Allister sells a tackle really well, but the effort hits the wall once again. Young Lewis Koumas had come on for Ryan Gravenberch just before, for one of the last subs we have. We only look mildly closer to scoring than we had earlier in the half, but the Newcastle defense is just better organized than our attack is. There are five minutes of added time, and Araujo makes a nervy tackle in the box to keep them from making it 3. Five minutes to take a point.
THE TIDE HAS CHANGED AS MUNOZ GOES DOWN IN THE BOX AND WE’RE GIVEN A PENALTY! With Salah gone, who is going to step up to take it is the question, and after much deliberation it’s SZOBOSZLAI! HE NAILS IT!!! LIVERPOOL EQUALIZE!!!
Final Thoughts
WE SORT OF DID THE THING??? A draw in the end, at the very last gasp of the game, and Newcastle will be kicking themselves for that but WHO CARES.