Newcastle United: 5 things we learned from the 2-0 loss to Liverpool
By Durim Halimi
Liverpool earned a comfortable 2-0 victory over Newcastle United at Anfield on Saturday.
From start to finish, Liverpool pleased their home supporters with a dominant performance against Newcastle. The first 30 minutes of the match saw the Magpies play defensive football, but Mohamed Salah eventually got on the score sheet. The second half consisted of more superiority from Liverpool as Sadio Mane doubled the lead.
Newcastle struggled on both ends of the pitch and they have a lot of corrections to make before playing Southampton. Here are five things we learned from the 2-0 loss on Saturday.
No Shelvey, No Distribution
The absence of Jonjo Shelvey was definitely felt against Liverpool on Saturday. Over the past two months, Shelvey has silenced critics and showcased his ability to serve as Newcastle’s facilitator. With their go-to man out of the lineup due to injury, the Magpies looked out of sync and unorganized in the midfield.
Without Shelvey in the middle third of the pitch, Newcastle United lived off of short, meaningless passes and were quick to turn the ball over. Mikel Merino was active defensively, however, he did a poor job of coordinating counter-attacks.
Non-Existent Wing Play
When Rafa Benitez published his lineup selection on Saturday, the first thing that came to mind was pace. With Kenedy, Christian Atsu and Jacob Murphy on the pitch to start the match, Newcastle should have done more on the wings. Instead, the Magpies spent the entire match either chasing the ball or delivering unreachable crosses.
Liverpool’s strikers possess great pace and acceleration, but their defenders do not. Newcastle United could have been more dangerous by playing through the wings rather than through the middle. If Newcastle want to win against Southampton and Huddersfield Town this month, they must utilize their pace on the wings.
Paul Dummett
The young defender from Wales was the best player for Newcastle United on Saturday. When Newcastle hosted Liverpool in October, it was DeAndre Yedlin who marked Salah, but at Anfield on Saturday it was Paul Dummett. Salah is the most difficult player to defend in the Premier League, but Dummett did well in sticking with him.
Dummett was active in intercepting passes in the penalty area, blocking threatening scoring opportunities and clearing the ball into safety. It was unfortunate that his team-mates on the back line did not match his energy and form. Regardless, Dummett is showing Benitez that he is worth every penny of his new contract.
Excessive Dribbling
Newcastle have never been a side to blow away spectators with skillful dribbling, but the Magpies forgot the fundamentals of the sport against Liverpool. From the aspect of dribbling and maintaining possession, the Magpies were horrible.
Too many defenders and midfielders, primarily Kenedy, DeAndre Yedlin and Mohamed Diame, wasted multiple attacking opportunities because of excessive dribbling. It is too late in the season to be making such amateur mistakes. The flow of the game is dependent on stringing together several passes, but holding the ball for too long hinders that flow.
Emotional Collapse
For the majority of this season, Benitez has done well in containing his players’ emotions, but on Saturday some Magpies made ill-advised and poorly timed challenges. The most notable of these challenges was when Jamaal Lascelles shoved Mohamed Salah to the ground during a breakaway. That challenge could have led to an unnecessary booking for Newcastle’s captain ahead of a crucial and winnable match against Southampton.
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The Magpies are an aggressive squad, but they are not dirty. Benitez must ensure that player attitudes do not negatively impact the collective effort of the club with nine matches remaining in the season.