Alexander Isak was booed by Newcastle fans throughout the 90 minutes at St. James' Park on Sunday, but the Liverpool striker could only offer a wink as the Reds escaped with a point
Alexander Isak played against his former club on Sunday
Alexander Isak played against his former club on Sunday(Image: Getty Images)
Alexander Isak could offer nothing more than a wink as he departed the pitch at St. James' Park — aware that his Liverpool teammates had been lucky to escape with a point.
Reds star Isak had squandered his opportunity in front of goal after enduring jeers throughout the day, but it was the Magpies' inability to clear their lines at the death that denied Matthias Jaissle his maiden Premier League victory.
It appeared that super sub Joe Willock had grabbed a dramatic winner for Newcastle after entering the fray in the second half, but just like last season, United's defensive frailties were exposed in stoppage time.
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In the early stages, Lewis Hall's challenge on Isak, who had been subjected to boos from the moment he emerged from the team coach, established a particular atmosphere.
Anthony Elanga opened the scoring for Newcastle early on before Cody Gakpo's long-range strike brought Liverpool level. Willock then restored Newcastle's lead in the second half.
Isak had a golden opportunity to quieten the home supporters with 20 minutes remaining, but fired over when it mattered most.
Isak failed to score against his former club
Isak failed to score against his former club(Image: Getty Images)
As Newcastle appeared to be edging toward maximum points, Lewis Hall's challenge on Victor Munoz was judged sufficient for Stuart Attwell to award a penalty.
Despite vociferous home protests, the spot-kick would be upheld with Dominik Szoboszlai stepping up to take it. Szoboszlai placed it into the top left-hand corner to beat the goalkeeper and drag the Reds level for what was effectively the final kick of the match.
The full-time whistle was when Isak's behavior — his wink — was spotted. The striker departed the pitch with a sense of relief, but once the dust settles, this may well be viewed as a respectable result, with the performance and commitment evident to everyone.
Late goals in Newcastle-Liverpool encounters are perpetually a concern, and this fixture proved no exception.
"Not the result we wanted, but it's true, the way we scored the goal in the end, it tastes better," Andoni Iraola told the BBC. "Still, we would have definitely preferred the win. We started the game the worst way we knew.
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"Newcastle away, first game of the season, the atmosphere, they have very fast players, and we concede the goal. They punished us, and we had to go against the result. But we didn't give up in any moment.
"The energy of the players, especially the substitutes, it was a good recovery. Once you concede the first goal, you need the game to go fast. You need things to happen when you're losing.
"We could control the game in the second half. We had better possession around their box. When we scored, it looked like we were the team going to turn the game, but then they scored again."