NEWCASTLE United versus Liverpool games are never dull and Saturday’s lunch-time kick off was no exception.
Yohan Cabaye opened the scoring for Newcastle from 30 yards before Yanga-Mbiwa was sent off for bringing down Suarez in the box, giving Steven Gerrard the chance to score his 100th Premier League goal.
10 man Newcastle went back in front – Liverpool again conceding from a set-piece, before Luis Suarez crossed for Daniel Sturridge to score the vital equalizer.
Teams
Brendan Rodgers brought back Aly Cissokho due to Jose Enrique’s injury, whilst Glen Johnson also returned to the side after his ankle problem. Joe Allen took his place amongst the substitutes.
100 up for Captain Marvel
Steven Gerrard was given the opportunity to score his 100th Premier League goal from the penalty spot after Sturridge sent Suarez clear down the right channel and Yanga-Mbiwa decided to clip the back of Luis’ leg whilst simultaneously auditioning for the next series of Strictly Come Dancing by holding Suarez around the neck.
Referee Andre Marriner had no choice but to award the penalty and send off Yanga-Mbiwa in the process. Delaying tactics quickly followed as Newcastle players contested the decision and surrounded the referee.
However that did not stop Stevie G side footing the ball towards the left-hand corner and into the net.
Gerrard now has 8 goals against Newcastle. He’s only scored more against Aston Villa.
Sturridge: In the right place at the right time
After some brilliant work down the left from Moses, he slipped the ball into the path of Suarez who placed a perfect cross onto Sturridge who applied a crisp, simple finish with his head.
“It took just 26 games for @D_Sturridge to be the fastest player to score 20 goals for Liverpool FC. Torres – 31 games” via @SturridgeStat
Gerrard: The Pass Master
Steven Gerrard had an impressive 91% passing accuracy throughout the match only misplacing 9 of them as the above diagram shows how much of the pitch he actually covered.
Gerrard took more touches on the ball than any other player on the pitch – 120.
Our No.8 also delivered eight crosses at St James’ Park, 62.5 per cent of which found a colleague, and created six shooting opportunities for his side.
For good measure, Gerrard was effective in a defensive sense too; he won all four of the tackles he entered and completed three clearances.
Final Thoughts
It was a case of two points dropped considering the team played against 10 men for 50 minutes of the match. Even though the team created 19 goal scoring opportunities, 3 coming from set plays, 3 of them being clear cut chances, and 2 of these clear cut chances being converted for long periods the Reds looked lack-lustre, their passing went astray numerous times.
I am not using the international break as an excuse at the end of the day the players should be ready and focused at the task at hand regardless that they have been travelling / playing with their respective national sides – does this mean players today cannot play Friday, Tuesday, Saturday?
A worry for me again is the fact that we are conceding goals from set pieces which has been a trend for much of the season. This is something that should be addressed in the coming weeks in training. For a start we should not put ourselves under pressure by giving away needless free kicks.
Another concern is Aly Cissokho. Now I know that was his first start for us and his inclusion was due to the long term problem which is affecting Jose Enrique and I understand that he will need time to adjust to the league and our way of playing, however there were several times on Saturday that he looked slow and out of place in the defensive line which was evident with the goal which put Newcastle 2-1 ahead. He will need to work extremely hard at his game if he is to take the place of Enrique long term.
Again the introduction of Sterling at right wing-back in the second half was not the best decision made by Brendan Rodgers – better options were available; Agger or Kelly. Rodgers could of even moved Toure or Henderson to play there considering they have more experience in that role.
When Raheem did get forward that did leave large amounts of space for Newcastle to exploit especially when possession was lost.
Stat Attack
– Steven Gerrard became the 12th Liverpool player to score 100 league goals and the 3rd to do it in the Premier League.
– Daniel Sturridge is the first LFC player to score in 6 successive away league games for 23 years – since John Barnes in September 1990.
– Simon Mignolet has made 31 saves and 9 punches this season; no keeper has made more in the Premier League. This is made me think that we are obviously giving opportunities to the opposition more frequently.
– Mignolet has made important saves in the 8 games played so far , but three clean sheets out 8 is something which needs improving quickly if we are going to challenge consistently for a top four finish.
Liverpool have got to get back to winning ways quickly and three points against West Brom will be a good start – payback for last season’s shock 2-0 loss at Anfield, considering we have games coming up against current leaders Arsenal away, at home to Fulham and the first derby of the season away to Martinez’s Everton.
Follow me on Twitter @MRSSG
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