Liverpool 4 Newcastle 1 – Saturday 31 January 2026 8pm
Newcastle United played with no fear and nearly scored when Barnes crashed a cleverly worked free-kick off the far post.
We deservedly went ahead thanks to a cracking finish by makeshift striker Gordon. He almost repeated the trick before Liverpool started to find a bit of momentum.
Ekitike showed why we wanted to sign him with two goals in three minutes. Both times he was given enough space to make us pay.
We looked capable of scoring again but so did Liverpool in a wide-open game.
Ekitike wasted a gift five minutes after the break, to Burn’s relief.
Tellingly, Liverpool were already happy to waste time at set-pieces. Barnes forced a top save on the hour from a Thiaw knock down as we hunted an equaliser.
Our hopes essentially ended when Thiaw passed straight to an opponent 40 yards from goal and Wirtz finished coolly, low into the far corner.
With under 20 minutes to go, Wissa, Jacob Murphy and Woltemade replaced Willock, Barnes and Elanga. Our passing, which had been incisive in the first half, was dangerously sloppy after the interval.
Anthony Gordon, my man of the match despite a stupid early foul that could have earned a red rather than a yellow card, still looked a threat but fired wide from the edge of the box.
Osula replaced Trippier on 80 minutes but by then the game was up.
Alex Murphy got six minutes he will never forget. Neither will Pope, who dropped a corner after bumping into his own defenders to gift Konate the fourth Liverpool goal.
The Eddie Howe tactics were not wrong. The team’s execution of them was.
Liverpool 4 Newcastle 1 – Saturday 31 January 2026 8pm
Match Stats
Goals:
Newcastle United :
Gordon 36
Liverpool:
Ekitike 41, 43, Wirtz 67, Konate 90+3
Possession was Newcastle 46% Liverpool 54%
Total shots were Newcastle 8 Liverpool 17
Shots on target were Newcastle 2 Liverpool 7
Corners were Newcastle 11 Liverpool 7
Touches in the opposition box Newcastle 21 Liverpool 41
Newcastle team v Liverpool:
Pope, Trippier (Osula 84), Thiaw, Burn, Hall (Alex Murphy 89), Tonali, Ramsey, Willock (Woltemade 73), Elanga (Jacob Murphy 73), Barnes (Wissa 73), Gordon
Unused subs:
Ramsdale, Botman, Miley, Shahar