A win is a win and, in the end, Liverpool won.
It was a far from encouraging slog to get there, though. The Reds needed a 110th minute winner from 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha to overcome ten-man Newcastle after being outplayed badly in the second half and letting a two-goal lead slip away despite their numerical advantage.
Some of that was down to Liverpool, who seemed unwilling or unable to adapt to a fired up opponent and slow the game down. A lot of that, though, was down to just how fired up Newcastle
was.
“We all know it’s a difficult place to come,” Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk noted after the eventual 3-2 victory. “I think for us the disappointing part is that we conceded two off set-pieces, but it’s always a difficult place to come and it was today the same.
“I enjoy this type of atmosphere so I was looking forward to it, but I think we could have made it a little bit easier if we didn’t concede those set-pieces. Then you give them the boost, the drive, and the feeling with the fans, but we managed to get the three points and we move on.”
While for Liverpool the story is of three not entirely deserved points from a game they were often outplayed in—and sometimes even battered—the story for Newcastle is of leaving it all on the pitch and still coming up short.
With Newcastle and their fans incensed by Liverpool’s pursuit of star striker Alexander Isak, the Reds’ opponents came out like they wanted either maximum points or their proverbial pound of flesh. In the end they got nothing and ended the night with multiple injuries and suspensions.
Joelinton, Sandro Tonali, and Fabian Schar are all doubts to be available to face Leeds on Saturday after suffering injury while stand-in striker Anthony Gordon will miss three matches due to a violent conduct red card.
The Reds, meanwhile, have three points. And managed to escape without significant physical injury as they look ahead to a major clash with Arsenal on Sunday—and to continuing their efforts to sign Alexander Isak away from their incensed opponents from last night.
“I think there were many good things today,” Van Dijk added. “I think the beginning was very intense—if you are going to try to show you are the best team on the ball they will come and attack you from behind and press with the fans behind them, so we had to be a little bit more direct.
“At a certain point the fans started to quieten down a bit and then you have time to play and I think we did that well. Like I said, it’s a tough place to come and with their fans behind them it’s always difficult here.”
