THE absence of a high profile player can often provide his team-mates with extra motivation and an obvious point to prove. However, no Liverpool fan would have expected the 6-0 demolition of Newcastle United on Saturday evening.
It would appear that Liverpool don’t win by halves, indeed, this is the latest in a long line of thumpings handed out in the Premier League this season.
From the very first whistle, Liverpool looked inspired and attempted a foray forward straight from kick off. Their intensity put a low-in-confidence Newcastle straight onto the back foot.
The first three minutes were played out entirely in Newcastle’s defensive third, and it was no surprise when Liverpool recorded a quick opener at the culmination of this dominant spell.
After Newcastle’s failure to deal with an early corner and its subsequent bombardment, the ball was eventually half cleared towards Stewart Downing; first time, he lofted the ball back into the box and towards Daniel Agger – who had sprang a loose offside trap. The Dane took full advantage and looped a header over Rob Elliott and into the net.
The home side’s poor start spread discontent amongst the Geordie ranks – who had last week witnessed a 3-0 home defeat to bitter local rivals Sunderland – and Liverpool sensed blood.
After 17 minutes, a second goal arrived. Reina’s long clearance was held up brilliantly by Daniel Sturridge, who laid the ball off neatly to Philippe Coutinho. The Brazilian utilised Sturridge’s powerful run through the centre perfectly and aimed an effortless outside-of-the-right-foot through ball to the former Chelsea man. Unselfishly, Sturridge slotted in a rampaging Jordan Henderson, who couldn’t miss from an open goal position.
A Mackem scoring at St. James’ Park – things were getting desperate for Newcastle now.
Liverpool cruised through the remainder of the half, however, Newcastle did have one glorious chance to reduce their arrears.
On 36 minutes, Massadio Haidara’s left wing cross provided James Perch with a free header from eight yards, unfortunately for the Toon however, Perch would appear to have the proverbial ’50p head’ and his header went horribly wide.
Unsurprisingly, Newcastle began the second-half with increased gusto, flying into tackles and pushing Liverpool back into their own territory.
But the Reds weathered the storm and notched a game-ending third goal on 53 minutes.
Coutinho was having a fine evening and was again the architect. He shrugged off substitute Hatem Ben Arfa (Newcastle fans: why isn’t he starting matches?) and sprinted towards goal before chipping a sublime through ball into Sturridge, who made no mistake with the finish, lashing the ball high into the net left footed.
[ad_pod id=”unruly-video” align=”center”]
Liverpool were running riot and went 4-0 up on the hour mark. Steven Gerrard chipped a ball over Mathieu Debuchy, who had failed miserably in his attempts to catch Jordan Henderson offside. Henderson then squared a simple pass to Sturridge, whose shot into an open goal was rather straight forward.
Newcastle fans headed for the exit in their droves. It was a good decision, because Liverpool weren’t finished yet.
On 73 minutes, Fabio Borini replaced Steven Gerrard, who had played every minute of every Premier League game up to that point. A shame for Gerrard to lose that record, but just a minute later, his replacement would record a goal on his long-awaited return to first team action.
After some good work from Stewart Downing on the right hand side, which led to a pull back for the Italian, he dug the ball from under his feet by aiming a right footed toe-poke into the bottom left hand corner. A smart finish and one which he enjoyed immensely. Who can blame him after a stuttering start to his Liverpool career?
A minute after Liverpool’s fifth, Debuchy clattered Coutinho on the left hand side and picked up a deserved second booking. Down to ten men, things would get even worse for Newcastle, because Jordan Henderson’s resulting free kick was swung in powerfully and evaded everyone before nestling into the bottom right hand corner.
Henderson’s second goal completed the rout but it could easily have been seven, when Coutinho – who deserved a goal more than anyone – made a marauding run through the centre on 81 minutes and had a powerful shot tipped onto the bar by Elliott.
What a strange season. After losing their star player to a suspension, which itself was the result of one of the most bizarre incidents seen at Anfield in recent years – Liverpool recorded their biggest win of the season.
A description of ‘inconsistent’ isn’t enough for this Liverpool side; try ‘completely unpredictable’. That would be more befitting of a team that can be as good as any other in the Premier League on their day.
This was a sparkling all round team performance. It was one of those rare occasions where every single player in the starting line up had a good game. Sure, this was helped by a horrendous Newcastle side, but Liverpool were every bit as good as Newcastle were bad.
Liverpool are now the second highest goalscoring team in the Premier League. Remarkable when you think of the attacking talent which litters the first team squads of Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea and Spurs.
In a season where Rodgers has attracted criticism from some quarters, he will point to this simple statistic as a tangible sign of progress.
L4L Man of the Match: Philippe Coutinho. In truth, this could have easily been given to Daniel Sturridge, who did notch two goals and an assist. However, the Brazilian’s easy-on-the-eye style makes him a joy to watch when he is in this kind of form. His brilliant start at Liverpool would be exciting enough if he wasn’t also 20 years old…
[ad_pod id=’DFP-MPU’ align=’right’]
Live4Liverpool is recruiting columnists. For further info contact the site editor at live4liverpool@snack-media.com
Follow us on Twitter here: @live4Liverpool and ‘Like’ us on Facebook
Coutinho! Truly the MOTM. He is classy and everybody played well. Even the so called Borini. I think Gerrard wasnt happy when substituted.
Henderson deserves at least a shout but Coutinho is definite class. Displays vision of the game like Gerrard and Alanso.