Got away with that, didn’t we? Still, what a horrible and wonderful ride. This season is going to age us by about a 1000 years, I maintain that.
It seems too easy to say that the Geordies lost, but the Geordie who bought me a wine and had a go for the final 30 really did. What an ending that was, despite them doing almost everything right. They got their two bad tackles in the first 10 minutes in and your man allowed them to go without cards — and then after our deserved yellow they got seemingly everything to make up for that seeming “harshness.”
It was a hard watch, which suited them, and after the (deserved) red they did not ever look like they were down to 10. Liverpool were quite poor, if still in flux: not having Conor Bradley or even Joe Gomez did matter tactically, and Alexis Mac Allister’s absence limited either the substitutions or the starting line-up, depending on where Arne Slot would’ve landed.
But when everything goes right for you and you still lose, it has to hurt more. Liverpool were poor for most of that match — the Reds arguably only dominated between the goal and halftime, and made nothing of it. But the character of a good team and of the best players is that they make it work even when it’s ugly.
It’s two wins on the bounce where it’s not looked great. Slot will be all over it, but with Set Play FC coming up next the Reds will absolutely have to get it right.
As for winners? Rio Ngumoha has obviously won, and Federico Chiesa had his say in the build-up. But I reckon an out-of-position Curtis Jones wins the day. The best of the worst bits early and strong late as well.
Arsenal have had something to say. They played quite poorly against a very good Manchester United on matchday one and ended up with the points, and fully deserved them against Leeds United this weekend. The kind of imperfect performance the Reds have provided the first two weeks will absolutely not work against Arsenal, and we can at least hope to have an almost-full squad for next week.
The home coming first in an opening week that saw City looking frail means there’s all the more pressure on the Reds to do something. Truly, an almost-full contingent does matter…but questions remain. Liverpool have at least two defenders who have failed to impress, and they’ll need to.
Giving Credit to the Opposition
It’s impossible to do this one and avoid giving credit to both the Magpies and the ground. St. James’ Park was loud man. That came through in the pubs and I’m sure it did live for the players — and it’s worth saying that Liverpool are used to harnessing that and not facing it. They have stuck the away end miles away, but it worked. That was an uphill battle, and the Reds never looked great; as much as it would be good to suggest that Liverpool had agency there, those in the ground and Eddie Howe’s side did well.
Had they had a £150 million striker on it’s hard to believe they would have lost. Whether Liverpool get their man or not — and despite the added challenge — you don’t see three points for Merseyside with Alexander Isak on the pitch…it was too much pressure for too long. Toss in rumors that Arsenal and City are buying him next mates.