Newcastle United played out a 2-2 draw with Liverpool at St James’ Park yesterday – but it could have been so much better.
Toon were leading 2-1 until the 96th minute, when Lewis Hall made contact with Victor Muñoz in the box and the Spaniard went down.
Dominik Szoboszlai scored the penalty to spare Liverpool’s blushes, and leave Newcastle feeling hard done by. But what else did we learn?
The Kids Are Alright
Newcastle’s transfer policy has been heavily scrutinised. Replacing the likes of Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali, and Anthony Gordon with youth has drawn criticism and even mockery in some quarters.
You can almost hear Alan Hansen saying: “You’ll never win anything with kids.”
There was a lot of fear for Newcastle when the two midfields were compared.
Lewis Miley and debutant Sean Steur were up against the vastly experienced Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch, but the youngsters held their own, helping to stifle Liverpool’s attacks.
Newcastle were impressive defensively, which they hadn’t been in preseason. Lewis Hall, still only 21 himself, was outstanding until the error that gave away the penalty.
Sven Botman seemed to have gotten over his preseason troubles, and Malick Thiaw was his usual composed self.
Lukáš Horníček had a decent debut, pulling off several saves. The most impressive was from Florian Wirtz in the 18th minute, which really set the tone.
Amar Dedić had an impressive debut at right-back. He handled the threat from Liverpool’s left-wing well. After one well-timed tackle, he turned and roared at the crowd. That moment summed up Newcastle’s intense, determined performance.
Yes, they need reinforcements in midfield and at full-back, but this was an encouraging start for the new signings.
Wissa Shows His Worth
Yoane Wissa gave a man-of-the-match performance, proving all his doubters – including me – wrong.
He was a thorn in Liverpool’s side and played really well in the number ten role, linking up well with Will Osula and the two wingers, Anthony Elanga and Harvey Barnes.
He set up Joe Willock for Newcastle’s second in the 57th minute, a good run ending in a well-timed pass for his teammate.
He broke the lines a couple of times on his own, and will be disappointed that he didn’t score. The only thing missing from his performance was a goal.
If Wissa makes that role his own, then the only question mark for Matthias Jaissle is where Nick Woltemade fits in. Let’s see what changes he makes for West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday.
The Intensity Is Back
Former boss Eddie Howe used to say that “intensity is our identity”, but it’s fair to say that intensity was in short supply last season.
It was back with a vengeance yesterday. This performance was reminiscent of Howe’s first season in charge, when Newcastle were known for their high-press, front-foot football.
There was an energy to this young team, a willingness to take the ball and pass it forward, and press when they were out of possession. That didn’t change, even when Jaissle made substitutions.
While they might get punished sometimes, it is what fans want to see.
It would have pleased Kevin Keegan, too. The stadium had a wonderful atmosphere after the tributes to him before the game, and the team fed off that.
It was a brilliant game and, while Newcastle will be disappointed with the result, it is a step in the right direction.
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