Newcastle drop their season finale to Liverpool after an early lead

Newcastle United conceded three unanswered goals to lose their season finale to Liverpool, 3-1.

Arguably the strangest season in Newcastle United history is officially in the books. After a lengthy hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Magpies closed out their Premier League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool. Dwight Gayle scored before a minute had even elapsed off the clock before Virgil van Dijk, Divock Origi, and Sadio Made sent the EPL champions to a season-ending victory.

Early Goal vs. Liverpool…Deja Vu

Newcastle United scored early to go ahead vs. Liverpool before allowing multiple unanswered goals in a 3-1 loss. Sound familiar? Because it’s exactly what happened in the reverse fixture as well when Jetro Willems’ strike put the Magpies up early before the Reds rolled past them for a comfortable win.

Good Form For Gayle

Gayle scoring again for Steve Bruce’s side is big. He has four goals since the season resumed and while his performance won’t discourage Newcastle from buying another striker, it does give them confidence in Gayle as a rotational forward or an increased return if they sell him this summer.

Quick Kicks

• Great awareness from Jonjo Shelvey to play the free kick quickly and fire a lovely ball to Gayle for the opening goal.
• 26% possession and three shots won’t get the job done very often, especially against the current EPL champions.
• The fact that Liverpool were able to have a 2-1 lead and then sub on Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and Mo Salah is absurd.
• We saw all three loanees (Bentaleb, Lazaro, and Rose) in the Newcastle United starting lineup. There’s no certainty we see any or all of them in the black and white again next season.
• Newcastle United ended the season in the 13th spot while Bournemouth, Norwich City, and Watford met their Premier League demise via relegation.

What’s Next?

An abbreviated offseason for the club ahead of the 2020/21 Premier League season start date on Septemeber 12th.