Salah and Alexander-Arnold inspire routine Liverpool victory

Liverpool needed to carry on their winning run to keep the pressure on Manchester City who currently top the table but also to keep themselves above Thomas Tuchel’s blues who before Liverpool’s and their own game sat only one point behind the reds. Newcastle on the other hand were looking to maybe grab any points they could in their effort to avoid relegation which is seemingly becoming a harder task week after week.

The game got off to a shaky start for the ever-confident Liverpool in the 7th minute when Newcastle were able to break away on the counter thanks to a Thiago error at their end. Allan Saint-Maximin did what he does best by driving at the Liverpool defence with lightning speed before laying the ball off to the left where it looked as though the chance was wasted by a poor cross into the Liverpool box. The ball fell once again to Thiago who had the job then of clearing the ball safely which seemed to be too tough a task for the Spaniard who cleared the ball right into the feet of Jonjo Shelvey.

I’d seen Shelvey hit dangerous shots from long range against my beloved Arsenal only a few weeks ago but we of course had Aaron Ramsdale in goal to save these shots quite spectacularly unlike Liverpool (Alisson who?). Speaking of Alisson, he was the man rooted to his spot as Shelvey’s long range effort bulged in the back of the net in front of the Kop. Thiago was of course really the man at fault here and not Alisson.

This goal didn’t seem to phase Liverpool in the slightest however as they continued to press and create chances with ruthless optimism until they got a corner which led to their equaliser in the 21st minute.

The corner was successfully cleared whilst Isaac Hayden picked up some sort of knock and stayed down in the box. All the meanwhile Liverpool were rapidly fashioning themselves another chance as Mane picked the ball up on the right side of the area before whipping a cross into the back post where Jota powered a header towards goal but was stopped by an incredible Dubravka save which came straight back out to the Portuguese forward who then tapped the ball home to make it 1–1.

Quickly afterwards in the 25th minute Liverpool took the lead in classic fashion as their press forced a Newcastle error which led to a goal.

We can see here as Joelinton is on the ball that Liverpool trigger their press as 4 players swarm around him and his closest passing option, Shelvey, almost creating a box around the two Newcastle players. This press means Joelinton’s only real option is to pass to Shelvey who is forced into attempting a tricky pass backwards with this back to goal as he has no other options. What we can also notice is how Mane is ready to pounce on any wayward ball as he perches just behind the defender ready to pounce.

Straight away this works out. Shelvey tries an ambitious flick pass that almost acts as a line breaking through ball for Mane who chases onto the ball before being challenged by Schar who brings him down in what could’ve actually been a penalty and a red card for the Swiss centre back. Luckily for Schar, Salah’s attacking instincts put him in the perfect place to fire home the loose ball past a scrambling Dubravka to make it 2–1 Liverpool.

The second half was a lot less eventful for Liverpool as they seemed to lose a lot of their pressing intensity for the majority of the second half. This allowed Newcastle to come back into the game a bit- Ryan Fraser in particular gave himself a good showing in the second half as he and Saint-Maximin created a fair few chances for the Magpies.

The real impact came along with Liverpool’s substitutions. Salah was replaced by Firmino and Chamberlain for Keita. Salah going off didn’t seem to be the big impact, but Keita was able to inject some much-needed energy into Liverpool’s pressing midfield which began again to pin Newcastle back into their own box. This eventually led to Liverpool’s third goal which put the game to bed in the 87th minute. Whilst Newcastle were still pinned in Firmino lay the ball of to Trent Alexander Arnold who took one touch before launching a rocket of a shot into the top left corner.

One of the most notable highlights from a tactical point of view was the ability and instructions of the Liverpool centre-backs to play quick line-breaking passes that help to catch the opponent off guard in transition, creating chances at speed. There was also the constant lofted through balls into either side of the Newcastle penalty area which were executed very well throughout the match particularly by Thiago and Jordan Henderson who are both very high-quality elite level players.

The other moment of individual brilliance was when Salah hit a cross into the box first-time on the half-volley with the outside of his foot. The cross was excellent, but Schar managed to get in front of Mane to stop what would’ve been an awe-dropping assist.

This win means that Liverpool are now only one point behind champions Manchester City but are also now three points clear of Chelsea who dropped points in a 1–1 draw with Everton.

The title race is heating up and Liverpool’s pressing style is only stoking the fire.