EPL strugglers Newcastle grab valuable win against Liverpool

Perhaps Jurgen Klopp was right after the win over Chelsea last month when he said it was “crazy” to think of Liverpool as title contenders. After all, in any other season, nobody would have thought it possible. But this year, as the top sides keep slipping up, it did seem as though Klopp’s charisma might be enough to fire a Liverpool surge. A 2-0 defeat to a Newcastle United side that had only beaten Norwich and Bournemouth this season might temper that.

There has been a significant upturn in Liverpool’s form, but it is not yet consistent, the notable away performances offset by some stagnant displays at home. Here it was largely insipid and, while nobody could claim Newcastle had been dominant, neither was its victory, secured through two Georgino Wijnaldum’s goals (although the first went in off Martin Skrtel).

There was only one change from the team that lost 5-1 at Crystal Palace last week, but the attitude could hardly have been more different. There was aggression and focus, perhaps confirming suspicions that this is a side that is fine until it goes behind, at which point all self-belief seems to leave it.

This was a Liverpool notably lacking the craft of the suspended Emre Can and the injured Philippe Coutinho. It looked the more threatening early on, largely because of a string of corners, from one of which Christian Benteke fired over after seizing on a Dejan Lovren nod-down, but the incisiveness that had ripped through Southampton on Wednesday wasn’t there. It ends the day seventh in the table, nine points behind the leaders Leicester and, perhaps more relevantly, six points behind Manchester United in fourth.

Credit, though, should also go to Newcastle. It pressed high up the pitch and disrupted Liverpool and the result was a game that was something of a mess. From that, Newcastle probably drew rather more comfort than Liverpool. After the pathetic display at Palace, this at least showed fighting spirit and the result was a crowd that – understandably – can become critical was broadly enthused. Not that Newcastle actually created a clear chance until two minutes before the break, Papiss Cisse flicking on a corner at the near post for Chancel Mbemba, who headed over from close range.

There were still huge numbers of misplaced passes from Newcastle and Rob Elliot’s distribution was poor, but it says much for how bad it has been of late that this still represented significant improvement.

So far, Klopp’s side has been better against better sides, teams that have been prepared to take the game to it. Newcastle, like many of those sides at Anfield, was focused largely on stopping Liverpool playing. To a large extent it succeeded; there was little space in behind Newcastle’s back four for Liverpool’s runners to exploit and it lacked the quality of passing to work openings in tight spaces.

Klopp himself seemed frustrated, pacing his technical area, shrugging and shaking his head at each mishit pass, of which there were many. The game perhaps reached its nadir midway through the second half as Lucas Leiva, 40 yards from his own goal, checked back, tried to hit a backpass, and thumped the ball out for a throw-in.

Klopp’s solution was, after 62 minutes, to withdraw Roberto Firmino and Benteke, who had been largely ineffective as a front pairing, and to introduce Adam Lallana and Daniel Sturridge, who had looked so sharp in scoring twice in the Capital One Cup at Southampton on Wednesday, transforming a game that had seemed to be going away from Liverpool into a victory.

This time, though, it was Newcastle who found the breakthrough. Wijnaldum arrived late in the box to gather a cross from the right. His first touch meant he and Cisse rather got it each other’s way, forcing Wijnaldum wide, but his shot flicked off Skrtel’s knee on its way past Simon Mignolet.

Klopp threw on Origi, who had scored a hat-trick on Wednesday, but Liverpool’s pressure was never sustained. One superb pass from Lallana did set Sturridge clear, but with his weaker right foot he dragged the ball across the face of goal. A second goal did arrive, but it was to seal Newcastle’s victory in injury-time, Moussa Sissoko laying in Wijnaldum on the break to dink the ball over Mignolet for his and Newcastle’s second.

The win lifted Newcastle above Sunderland, but it remains in the relegation zone, behind Bournemouth on goal difference. After all the gloom, though, there is, though, at least now hope.