Liverpool’s full-back pairing of Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong has come in for criticism following two erratic performances against Newcastle.
Good showings were few and far between among the Liverpool side as they rescued a 2-2 draw at St James’ Park in the opening game of the season.
The attack didn’t combine well, the midfield left the defence very exposed and the system just didn’t look cohesive – not a surprise given it was Andoni Iraola‘s first game as coach.
For all their ailments, though, the Reds did earn a point and got into some good positions. However, the quality from wide areas saw several attacks break down.
Kerkez and Frimpong lined up at left-back and right-back, with Cody Gakpo and Rio Ngumoha ahead of them on their respective flanks.
Both full-backs covered similar distances, had an almost identical number of touches and spent a lot of their time in the opposition half.
Another common pattern was a lack of end product.
FotMob tells us Frimpong hit just one of his five crosses accurately, while Kerkez managed none of his two attempts.
Their long passes weren’t up to scratch either, managing five accurate long balls of 11 attempted between them.
In addition, Kerkez was dispossessed three times, but Frimpong did create three FotMob-defined chances.
There are mitigations for poor output in the final third – there is a responsibility for their teammates to be in good positions to receive, for example.
Frimpong, especially, seemed somewhat limited by having to cross from deep positions due to Ngumoha frequently passing back to the Dutch international because he was unable to beat Lewis Hall down the line.
6 duels won from 17: Liverpool beaten at the back
The pair weren’t great defensively either, even taking into account the fact that the Reds were left exposed at the back on several Newcastle counter-attacks.
Kerkez had the unenviable task of dealing with the rapid Anthony Elanga, and the Swedish winger got in behind the Hungarian to score his first Premier League goal for the Magpies over a year after signing.
Liverpool’s left-back won four of his 10 ground duels but was very involved, making three recoveries.
On the opposite side, Frimpong faced Harvey Barnes and won just two of his seven ground duels and was dribbled past twice.
While it has to be acknowledged that Newcastle had a very quick attack – Elanga and William Osula both registered some of the highest speeds in the division last season – this was a worrying showing.
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ENGLAND - Saturday, August 22, 2026: Liverpool's Jeremie Frimpong during the FA Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Liverpool FC at St James' Park. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ENGLAND - Saturday, August 22, 2026: Liverpool's Jeremie Frimpong during the FA Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and Liverpool FC at St James' Park. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
Conor Bradley will be out until at least after Christmas, leaving Frimpong as the only real right-back in the squad.
Ronald Araujo has been brought in as cover for him, but he is primarily a centre-half and is a very different style of player compared to Frimpong, who features essentially as a wide attacker.
Meanwhile, the buzzword for Kerkez continues to be ‘erratic’. The hope is that the 22-year-old develops under his old coach, Iraola.
Liverpool are gambling with the full-backs as they are, but they would be helped by a better functioning team.
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