Newcastle United suffered their worst loss in a few years after losing to Liverpool by a score of 4-0 yesterday.
Liverpool dominated Newcastle United at Anfield yesterday and they made it look simple by scoring four goals on the Magpies with ease. The loss does not come as a surprise to anyone since Liverpool were clear favorites for a reason, but Newcastle were expected to put up a fight.
There are hardly any positives to note after losing 4-0 and Newcastle have a lot of work to do in a short period of time before they face Watford on the road this weekend. Here are three things we learned from the loss against the league leaders.
Thank You, Martin Dubravka
Every Newcastle supporter should write a thank you letter to Martin Dubravka for his performance against Liverpool yesterday. Yes, he conceded four goals, but none of them were his fault. Newcastle’s defenders are to blame for three easy goals that Liverpool scored and the referee is to blame for rewarding Mohamed Salah’s dive with a penalty.
Dubravka saved Newcastle from further embarrassment yesterday as Liverpool kept their foot on the gas pedal all afternoon. The Slovakian keeper gave it his all to protect the goal and he did well to stop Xherdan Shaqiri and Sadio mane from making it six or seven to nil for the home side.
Fundamentals in Training
Newcastle lost against Liverpool for the following reasons: Liverpool boast more talent and Newcastle struggle when it comes marking men in the penalty area. The goals that Liverpool scored yesterday were unacceptable and completely avoidable. Footballers should not be able to roam freely in the penalty area, sit back and set up their shot on goal at this level. Newcastle’s defenders are repeatedly making this error in every match and Benitez’s staff must do something about it.
Facilitator in Midfield
No Ki Sung-yueng and no Jonjo Shelvey only means one thing, no party. Newcastle will struggle without a proper facilitator playing in the center of the park. Mohamed Diame and Isaac Hayden can do a solid job of intercepting passes and recovering the ball, but they cannot build an attack and spread the ball around.
Benitez must either alter his game plan to attack through the wings for the majority of a match or he must play someone out of position to string together some passes in the middle. Yesterday’s poor ball movement is a sign that Newcastle will struggle without a decent passer in the middle.