Louise Taylor was at St James’ Park tonight. Here’s her verdict. Thanks for reading this MBM.
As for the Alexander Isak situation, unsurprisingly there’s no update, but Howe is asked whether there will be any incoming transfers: “We hope we can bring players into the club … we’ve been trying all through the window … especially in the forward positions … so we’ll continue right to the end.
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Howe then reports that both Sandro Tonali and Joelinton could be “out for a while”. He also addresses the red card incident by saying “there was no intent” by Anthony Gordon as he tackled Virgil van Dijk and that “he was trying to pull out of the tackle”. He continues: “Both teams were on the edge, Liverpool as well as us … it wasn’t an easy game to manage from the referee’s perspective.”
Eddie Howe’s turn to speak to Sky Sports. “A bruising game for us … so many different emotions … really proud of the performance … really pleased with how we played … great intensity … the following of the game plan and then adapting … with ten men we were the better team in the second half as well as the first … so to come away with nothing, and injuries and suspensions and concussions, it’s a pretty bad day.”
Rio Ngumoha has become the fourth youngest scorer in Premier League history.
James Vaughan (Everton, April 2005): 16 years and 270 days
James Milner (Leeds, December 2002): 16 years and 356 days
Wayne Rooney (Everton, October 2002): 16 years and 360 days
Rio Ngumoha (Liverpool, August 2025): 16 years and 361 days
As for the Premier League table … for what it’s worth after two rounds of games … Liverpool join north London’s finest as the only teams with a 100 percent record, while Newcastle have just one point to show for a couple of performances that – and this isn’t stretching a point particularly far – could easily have earned them six. The small margins.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 2 | 6 | 6 |
| 2 | Tottenham Hotspur | 2 | 5 | 6 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 4 | Chelsea | 2 | 4 | 4 |
| 5 | Nottm Forest | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| 6 | Man City | 2 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 | Sunderland | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 8 | Everton | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 9 | AFC Bournemouth | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 10 | Brentford | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 11 | Burnley | 2 | -1 | 3 |
| 12 | Leeds | 2 | -4 | 3 |
| 13 | Fulham | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 14 | Crystal Palace | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 15 | Newcastle | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 16 | Man Utd | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 2 | -1 | 1 |
| 18 | Brighton | 2 | -2 | 1 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton | 2 | -5 | 0 |
| 20 | West Ham | 2 | -7 | 0 |
Slot continues: “We didn’t play well enough with the ball … we tried to force something … it never led to anything … I don’t think there was so much open play to be played … [the winner] was a great attack … for the first time we went from right to the middle to the left … a great goal for a 16-year-old … what I liked most from our players is after the 2-2 we had to defend five set pieces, three throw-ins and two free kicks … maybe it wasn’t the best game in terms of tactics or playing football but I think every fan around the world enjoyed watching this game of football … also because their fans were amazing in terms of the help they gave the home team.”
Arne Slot talks to Sky. “I heard you correctly, you said football match?! … I’m not too sure I saw a football match today … set piece after set piece, long throw … it didn’t have a lot to do with tactics … but I liked a lot how we stood strong … the first half hour … we didn’t collapse at all … them going down to ten men you would expect is a big plus for us … but when the goalkeeper takes every free kick there is not so much help when you are one player up … and that’s why it was so difficult to get the 0-2 over the line.”
Van Dijk is then asked about the Anthony Gordon incident … “I said to him, if that’s not a sending off, then I don’t really understand football … it was really strange that the [referee] has to go to the monitor … unfortunately these things happen in football … if he meant it or not, it happened.”
… and then Rio Ngumoha’s stunning intervention. “It’s a dream debut for him … that whole attack was quite good … Harvey started it on the right-hand side … the dummy … it was a perfect attack … we stayed calm to try to find a solution to score a goal and we did it … I’m very, very pleased for Rio … he has to keep working hard and stay humble … but he also has to enjoy it because these nights you can’t take for granted … I’m sure with the players we have, he will be back in training tomorrow and having a hard session.”
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk speaks to Sky Sports. “We all know it’s a difficult place to come … there was a lot of oil on the fire this week … especially to get Newcastle fired up … it was expected … we’re disappointed to concede two from set pieces … that shouldn’t happen … overall a great three points … move on … focus on the next one … free kicks, corner kicks, the pressure gets on … they had the quality … look at the traditional top-six here last year … only a couple managed to beat them … it’s always a difficult place to come … I enjoy this type of atmosphere as well so I was really looking forward to it … but we could have made it a little bit easier if we don’t concede those set pieces … gave them a boost … the fans behind them of course.”
The xG tonight, without comment: Newcastle United 0.93, Liverpool 0.70.
It’s difficult to know exactly how to parse all of that. There are quite a few stunned faces in the St James’ Park crowd, struggling to process the drama that’s just unfolded. Newcastle steamrollered Liverpool for the first 34 minutes, when a home win looked inevitable. Then they suddenly unravelled when Ryan Gravenberch scored and Anthony Gordon suffered a rush of the hottest blood to the noggin, scything into Virgil van Dijk and getting himself deservedly sent off. And it looked done and dusted when former Newcastle transfer target Hugo Ekitike scored another for Liverpool, 23 seconds into the second half. But the ten men of Newcastle dug in, and when Bruno Guimaraes powered in a header to reduce the arrears, the home side reasserted themselves. The pressure they bravely applied on Liverpool finally told when William Osula equalised with a couple of minutes of normal time to go, and there only looked one winner during added time, the Toon pinning the champions back. But then Liverpool played some patient triangles down the right, Mo Salah crossed, Dominik Szoboszlai dummied, and Rio Ngumoha coolly slotted himself into the Liverpool record book. Newcastle will wonder how they lost; Liverpool will wonder how they got into a position where they needed a last-minute stunner from a teenager to win; both things can be true at once. All we know for sure is that Newcastle United and Liverpool: they always deliver.
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Ignoring all of that nonsense, Rio Ngumoha has just scored an injury-time winner for Liverpool at the age of 16 years and 361 days. That beats the club record set by Ben Woodburn, who notched against Leeds United aged 17 years and 45 days in 2016. He’s quite a long way beyond delighted, his wide smile lighting up the northern sky. What an impact he made. That was an exquisite finish at the end of a wonderful team move, during the last knockings of a quite sensational match. Just outstanding.
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In the immediate aftermath, Dan Burn loses his temper with Alisson. Not sure what’s gone on there. The sting of that late Liverpool winner, perhaps. He briefly considers taking a handful of Alisson’s shirt, but thinks better of it. Eventually the pair are separated, and everything calms down.
FULL TIME: Newcastle United 2-3 Liverpool
Another game between Newcastle and Liverpool, another wild classic.
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90 min +13: Hall curls the corner in. Liverpool clear. Guimaraes and Elanga can’t keep the ball in on the left flank. Before the throw can be taken, Guimaraes and Gravenberch have a discussion. The referee separates them.
90 min +12: Newcastle restart, and Burn wins a free kick out on the left, battling with Chiesa. The free kick’s looped into the mixer, and Alisson is forced to turn behind for a corner. They couldn’t, could they?!
90 min +11: Celebratory bedlam on the Liverpool bench. What drama here!
GOAL! Newcastle United 2-3 Liverpool (Ngumoha 90+10)
Three days short of his 17th birthday, Rio Ngumoha scores a pearler! Chiesa slips a pass down the inside-right channel. Salah rolls across to Szoboszlai on the penalty spot. Szoboszlai dummies, and Ngumoha is free! He opens his body and powers a curler into the right-hand side of the net! Unstoppable! Pope utterly rooted to the spot!
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90 min +9: In the dugout, Arne Slot looks grim-faced. His team have been second-best for the majority of this match … and yet should have seen out a win against depleted opponents. Strange game, football, sometimes.
90 min +7: Liverpool make a double change, replacing Gakpo and Jones with Elliott and the 16-year-old Ngumoha. “While it would be trolling to argue that Liverpool sold their best defender to Real Madrid this summer, I do think that without Trent, the defence work is harder,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Having someone who can let fly with inch-perfect throughballs from his own penalty box eases the attacking pressure.”
90 min +6: Van Dijk heads clear, then Osula fouls, releasing the pressure on the visitors, who surely must want to get out of Dodge without further bother.
90 min +4: Livramento and Osula continue to cause all sorts of bother down the right. They combine to win yet another corner. Liverpool can’t get out, and haven’t been able to for a while. They’ve got an extra man!
90 min +3: Chiesa, of all people, head clear. But the ball’s going to come straight back at Liverpool. If you’d just turned up, you’d imagine it’s Liverpool down to ten. Newcastle have been immense since making it 1-2. They were immense before it was 1-0 as well.
90 min +2: Livramento throws long from the right. Burn flicks on, forcing Alisson to punch clear in a panic. Guimaraes then wins a corner on the left. Liverpool suddenly hanging on!
90 min +1: Van Dijk heads the corner clear. What on earth does this game have left?! It’s got something left, hasn’t it?
90 min: Elanga bursts clear down the right and wins a corner off Kerkez. St James’ Park is rocking now. The fans sense a winner for the ten men! There will be at least 11 (eleven) minutes of stoppage time!
89 min: Kerkez was outfought for Newcastle’s first goal; Konate for their second. Liverpool won’t be retaining their title defending like they’ve defended in their opening two matches.
GOAL! Newcastle United 2-2 Liverpool (Osula 88)
… and from the resulting free kick, in the centre circle, Newcastle equalise! A long ball launched down the middle by Pope. Burn outmuscles Konate just outside the box. The ball bounces over them both, then Osula nips past Gravenberch to prod the ball past Alisson and into the net!
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87 min: Bradley goes into the book for nibbling too enthusiastically at the heel of Guimaraes.
86 min: Liverpool ping it around the back awhile, as the world turns.
84 min: Thiaw’s first act in a Newcastle shirt is a poor clearance straight to Chiesa, who advances on the box. Thiaw is thankful Burn comes racing back to dispossess Chiesa from behind. That’s a fine challenge.
82 min: Newcastle make a concussion substitution, replacing the stricken Schar with new-boy Thiaw.
81 min: The game restarts. Guimaraes clatters into Chiesa, front on, a little swipe on the follow-through, and is slightly fortunate not to pick up a second card. He’s treading a fine line.
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80 min: While the game is paused, Liverpool replace Wirtz and Ekitike with Bradley and Chiesa.
79 min: Thankfully Schar is sitting up, but he’s being treated for a cut to the back of his head.
77 min: Schar goes up with Van Dijk and Guimaraes, then goes down and stays down, stock still. A head injury. The referee waves play on. Eventually the whistle goes to stop play. Schar looks very groggy indeed, and the physio takes great care to cradle his neck as he comes on.
76 min: After a long period of admin, Joelinton, Barnes and Trippier make way for Hall, Ramsey and Osula.
75 min: Joelinton can’t continue. He may have opened up a joint in over-stretching. He hobbles off, and will be one of three Newcastle players to be replaced.
73 min: Joelinton stretches for a ball in midfield, hoping to get in ahead of Gravenberch. He does that, but goes down in a heap. He looks in some discomfort, holding the top of his thigh. On comes the physio.
72 min: Liverpool play some patient keep-ball in the centre of the park. St James’ Park falls quiet as a result. Some smart game-management here. Liverpool needed it.
70 min: Some space for Salah on the right. He cuts infield and looks for Gakpo at the far stick, but gets the cross all wrong. Goal kick.
68 min: A rare Liverpool attack. Gakpo has the opportunity to feed Kerkez on the underlap, but tries to find Salah at the far stick instead. Livramento ushers the ball out for a goal kick.
67 min: The ten men of Newcastle have enjoyed 90 percent of possession during the last five minutes.
66 min: Tonali’s shoulder continues to trouble him, and he’s forced to make way for Miley. When the game restarts, Schar twists Kerkez inside and out down the right, and fires into the six-yard box. Szoboszlai flips clear just in time, with black and white shirts waiting to prod home.
65 min: Yet another Livramento throw from the left. Schar goes down upon feeling Gakpo’s hand on the back of his shirt. Not enough contact, and play continues.
64 min: … Trippier swings viciously under the Liverpool crossbar. Alisson is forced to paw out, else the ball curl into the net, then punch the dropping ball clear. Liverpool suddenly on the back foot again.
63 min: Livramento flings another long throw into the Liverpool box from the left. Van Dijk is forced to head behind for a corner amid a six-yard-box meleé. And from that corner …
62 min: Wirtz competes for a ball in the midfield with Tonali, his arm clapping the Newcastle man on the ear during the tussle. Tonali goes down and wants punishment, performing the elbow mime, but the referee isn’t buying it. We play on.
60 min: Kerkez takes his time over a throw and earns himself a ticking off from the referee. No yellow card, though. Not yet.
59 min: That’s got St James’ Park going again. The home fans had been quiet since Gordon’s dismissal, but now the pot’s bubbling again. Dreadful defending by Kerkez, who was looking the wrong way and buckled, but what determination from Newcastle’s captain!
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GOAL! Newcastle United 1-2 Liverpool (Guimaraes 57)
Livramento throws in long from the left. Gravenberch heads it back to him. Livramento curls it deep for Guimaraes, who overpowers Kerkez and plants a glorious header into the bottom right! Game back on!
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55 min: Tonali was grappling with Ekitike then fell awkwardly. He’s OK to continue for now. “Getting back to the sending off, the most baffling aspect of it all for me was that it revealed Virgil van Dijk has personalised shinpads,” notes David Bowen.
54 min: A pause in play so Tonali can get some treatment for a sore left shoulder. He looks in some discomfort.
52 min: Salah, Ekitike and Wirtz nearly open up Newcastle with some intricate triangles down the right. Newcastle just about hold their shape.
50 min: Szoboszlai and Salah combine crisply down the left. The former crosses low; Schar slams clear with red shirts lurking. Newcastle need to clear their heads and quick.
48 min: Newcastle’s heads have gone a wee bit here. Gakpo is clipped from behind by Tonali. Just a free kick, but Tonali tries to engage Ekitike in a shoving match. He calms down quickly enough, which is probably for the best.
47 min: That goal took 23 second-half seconds. Arne Slot wasn’t even out of the tunnel, and missed it. Upon the restart, Konate barges Barnes, who falls to the floor. Guimaraes wants a free kick that he’s not getting, and says too much. Into the book he goes.
GOAL! Newcastle United 0-2 Liverpool (Ekitike 46)
Liverpool immediately come streaming forward. Ekitike powers down the middle, holding off Tonali. He feeds Gakpo to his left. Gakpo’s shot is blocked. He nudges the rebound to Ekitike, who fires a low first-time drive off the base of the left-hand post and in!
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Newcastle United get the second half started. No changes.
Half-time postbag. “I’m finding these RefCam shots slightly nauseating. The wobbly in-your-face shots are a little reminiscent of Peep Show, although Super Hans, Dobby, and of course Alan Johnson are far more-suited to elite-level officiating than most of the current crew” – Paul Griffin
“Watching Liverpool’s early struggles, I decided it was time to break out my lucky Gerrard jersey. Sure enough, they score almost immediately after I put it on, and now Gordon is sent off. You’re welcome, Reds fans!” – Joe Pearson
“Gutted for ex-Evertonian Gordon, he was looking so good. The red is a deserved call” – Mary Waltz
HALF TIME: Newcastle United 0-1 Liverpool
It’s unravelled quickly for Newcastle. The teams depart to frustrated boos, but Anthony Gordon has dumped his team-mates – who had been much the better side for the majority of the half – in a spot of bother.
45 min +4: Gordon was all over Van Dijk’s achilles there, and could have buckled his standing leg too. The referee had no choice. It was a miserable, hot-headed lunge.
RED CARD: Gordon (Newcastle United)
45 min +3: It’s red. It was a terrible challenge. Van Dijk is OK to continue. The defender appears to harbour no ill will to Gordon, and throws a friendly arm across his shoulder and taps him on the back as he departs. Eddie Howe shakes his head sadly as his man disappears down the tunnel.
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45 min +2: Gordon is coming in super-hard, and super-late. The referee is about to announce a review.
45 min: Gordon, chasing down from a long way away, comes through the back of Van Dijk’s standing leg as the Liverpool defender attempts a clearance. It’s a very poor mid-air challenge. Studs down the back of the leg. Yellow card. Kerkez goes nose to nose with Gordon, and Guimaraes separates the pair. But VAR asks the referee to have a second look. Gordon could be in trouble here.
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44 min: Salah is caught from behind by Burn. It’s a poor lunge. Yellow card.
42 min: Liverpool stream forward, Gakpo cutting in from the left and sending a diagonal towards Salah on the right-hand corner of the Toon box. Salah curls an inviting low ball through the area. Jones, alone ten yards out, can’t connect, and it’s too far in front of Ekitike, rushing in from the other side.
41 min: Wirtz hasn’t got into the game at all. He’s got a bit of space down the left, but not as much time as he thinks, and Trippier comes across to barge him off the ball. Some Premier League acclimatisation may be required here.
39 min: … so having said that, the hosts pick up the speed again, Elanga making good space down the right and crossing long, hopefully for Gordon. Szoboszlai gets in ahead of his man and flashes a header wide left. A corner, from which nothing comes.
38 min: Liverpool suddenly look a little more assured, Newcastle subdued.
37 min: That’s stunned the denizens of St James’ Park, who can’t believe what they’ve just seen. Newcastle have been utterly dominant, but Gordon missed the two chances they made, and Liverpool have hit them with a classic sucker-punch.
GOAL! Newcastle United 0-1 Liverpool (Gravenberch 35)
Well, well, well, wouldn’t you know it? Liverpool take it down a notch with some patient possession. Then Gakpo, on the left, feeds Gravenberch, who takes another step infield. Gravenberch takes a touch to make space to shoot, then rifles a low drive through Guimaraes’ legs, off the base of the left-hand post and in. Pope rooted to the spot! What a finish! What a smash and grab!
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33 min: Ekitike clanks a simple pass out for a throw. You can hear the pantomime jeering from where you are, can’t you? “Newcastle are fantastic,” writes Tanay Padhi. “Snappy in midfield, quick in transition, quality balls into the box. I feel like they’re almost a crack outfit, just can’t quite put my finger on what the missing ingredient here is.”
32 min: Tonali blazes past Konate down the middle of the park. That was absurdly easy. He doesn’t quite have the pace to beat Van Dijk as well, so looks for Gordon in the middle. Alisson, wise to the grift, races off his line to smother. Liverpool are clinging on here. They’re being given the proper runaround.
31 min: Van Dijk and Konate exchange a few low-voltage passes at the back, again trying to take some sting out of proceedings. There’s no ball out, though, and it soon ends up in Pope’s hands.
29 min: Barnes feeds Elanga down the right. Elanga gets the better of Kerkez and crosses low. Gordon, sliding in, can’t connect properly, and Alisson claims. Newcastle quickly come again, Elanga again crossing from the right. Gordon flashing a poor header wide left. Again, a certain striker, etc., and so on.
28 min: Barnes whips a cross in from the left. Gordon rises highest in the middle but sends his header over the bar from six yards. You can be pretty sure that a certain striker would have buried that.
27 min: Joelinton attempts a bicycle kick with the ball coming in from the Newcastle right. He doesn’t connect.
25 min: Gordon spins Konate, who yanks him back with a fistful of shirt. Another Liverpool player goes into the book. The champions are getting a bit of a chasing in midfield, though Newcastle haven’t created a proper chance yet.
24 min: Trippier with another free kick in the centre circle. He hits it long and straight, all the way through to Alisson. The whistle goes for a Burn shove, anyway. Newcastle have enjoyed 80 percent possession during the last five minutes.
22 min: Gordon passes wide right to Trippier, who miscues his cross with options in the middle. The ball bobbles harmlessly through to Alisson.
21 min: Newcastle are winning the midfield battles, though. Joelinton sends Barnes down the inside-left channel. Barnes shuttles on to Livramento, who whistles a low cross into the six-yard box. Alisson gathers. The hosts well on top.
19 min: Ekitike comes off second best in an aerial challenge in midfield with Schar. A garden-variety free kick. Van Dijk isn’t happy, telling the referee how he sees it. “Both sides, both sides,” he mouths, with some feeling. His mood doesn’t improve a few seconds later when Salah and Livramento come together for another Newcastle free kick. Nothing comes of either set piece, which is probably just as well.
17 min: Tonali sends a weird, flat, low free kick through the Liverpool box. Behind just about everyone in black and white. That’s a dreadful waste.
16 min: Elanga races after a pass down the right and cuts back from the byline. Just behind Joelinton. Gordon recycles possession on the left flank and draws a clumsy foul from Szoboszlai, just to the side of the box. A free kick in a very dangerous position.
14 min: Liverpool make a big show of a pre-corner huddle, but the theatre doesn’t affect Newcastle’s concentration. The hosts clear Wirtz’s poor delivery with ease.
13 min: Schar’s careless pass out from the back is intercepted by Ekitike, who tees up Wirtz on the left-hand corner of the box. Wirtz curls for the right-hand side of the net. Pope paws the ball around the post. Corner.
12 min: Ekitike scampers after a pass down the left and wins a throw. Plenty of loud booing as he takes his touch. Nothing comes of the throw, and play restarts, Guimaraes trying to release Elanga down the middle. He overhits, allowing Alisson to race out of his box and blooter clear. A better-weighted ball and Newcastle were in.
11 min: Alisson takes his sweet time over a goal kick, much to the annoyance of the home fans. Liverpool trying to draw some sting out of this game. Good luck with that.
9 min: … though Van Dijk isn’t slow in making the point that Trippier and Joelinton have both got away with one. However, two wrongs, etc. Gravenberch’s challenge was clumsy bordering on poor.
8 min: Gravenberch slides in late on Guimaraes and that’s the first yellow card of the evening. He can have no complaints, scissoring the Newcastle man’s standing leg.
7 min: Alisson hits long down the left for Ekitike, who is wrestled from behind by Trippier. A free kick, and a chance for Wirtz to curl one into the Toon mixer … but he plays it short for Kerkez, whose long pass forward is headed clear by Burn.
5 min: Wirtz flicks a ball down the left wing and is pinged to the floor by Trippier. Just a free kick, though it’s another challenge that, at another stage in the match, perhaps between two other opponents, in different circumstances, a card may have been shown.
4 min: It’s a high-octane start, as pretty much everyone would have predicted. Newcastle getting their press going early doors. Their passing game, not so much.
2 min: … Kerkez heads clear, and then Joelinton clips a high boot into Gakpo’s face. Later in the game, and that’d have been a booking for sure. The referee playing it cool for now.
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44 secs: Elanga chases down the right and wins the first corner of the game. From which …
A huge St James’ Park roar as the two teams huddle, then Liverpool get the ball rolling. Plenty of boos as they kick off. Then another roar as Burn heads clear. What an atmosphere!
The teams are out! Newcastle in black and white, Liverpool in red. Fair to say there’s quite the atmosphere at St James’ Park, a heady mix of love and hostility. We won’t insult your intelligence by detailing what’s being directed at whom. Liverpool got a volley of boos earlier while getting off the team bus, and when the teams were announced over the tannoy, Hugo Ekitike, a one-time transfer target for Newcastle, got some special treatment. Speaking of which, a banner displayed in the Gallowgate End may also be directed at one particular individual. “NOTHING IS ACHIEVED ALONE.” But who? No prizes. Off in a couple of minutes!
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It’s true that this article is more than 11 years old … but retro enthusiasts are surely the last people on earth who’ll care about us regurgitating old stuff. Enjoy the memories.
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It’s Arne Slot’s turn to talk to Sky Sports, and despite some heroic filibustering to avoid the question†, he eventually succumbs and confirms that Dominik Szoboszlai will deputise at right-back for Liverpool tonight. “Eh … yes it is … yes … yep … who else should it be?! … yeah, Curtis Jones could have played there as well, he played there once … against Everton by the way, and he did really well … two right full-backs injured … Joe Gomez not ready to start yet … can have an impact for 15-20 minutes again … we think [Szoboszlai] is able to play there but it all depends on the team performance as to whether it’s a good choice.”
†: 1m 01s of free-jazz waffle about last season’s 3-3 and the supposedly threadbare composition of Liverpool’s bench this evening, an opinion put forward by Sky pundit Jamie Carragher, onto whom Slot sprinkles some light banter-grade shade
More from Eddie Howe’s chat with Sky. “It’s not where we want to be at this moment in time … entering the new season without a recognised centre-forward … what I would say is that Anthony Gordon has played the position really well for us historically … and last week, though he didn’t score … he led the line really well … I expect him to do the same today … he enjoys the position … he wants to play there … counter-attacking is not fundamentally the most important thing in our performance … defensively our off-the-ball structure has to be right … we have to minimise their threats … but we are at home and we believe with the creative players we have on the pitch … we can cause any team problems.”
Sky Sports get Eddie Howe on the mic, and immediately ask if there are any updates on the Alexander Isak saga. “No, absolutely nothing to update you with, unfortunately,” he straight-bats.
What about Newcastle’s reported £50m bid for Wolves striker Jørgen Strand Larsen? “I’m not going down well here, am I, because I’ve got nothing to tell you on that! I’ve been preparing the game and I’ve had no updates on anything … the focus for me is purely on this game as I think you’ll understand.”
Toon unchanged; Reds welcome back Gravenberch
Newcastle did everything but score in their opening Premier League match at Villa Park. No big surprise, then, that they name the same starting XI as they did for that goalless draw last Saturday. Jacob Ramsey, the new arrival from Villa, is named as a sub.
Liverpool make two changes in the wake of their emotional 4-2 victory over Bournemouth two Fridays ago. Curtis Jones and Ryan Gravenberch come into the midfield; Jeremie Frimpong is injured, while Alexis Mac Allister is missing due to personal reasons. Frimpong’s place at right back will be taken by … either Jones or Dominik Szoboszlai. Let’s see.
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The teams
Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Burn, Livramento, Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton, Elanga, Gordon, Barnes.
Subs: Ramsdale, Hall, Botman, Thiaw, Osula, Jacob Murphy, Willock, Ramsey, Miley.
Liverpool: Alisson, Jones, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Salah, Wirtz, Gakpo, Ekitike.
Subs: Mamardashvili, Gomez, Endo, Bradley, Chiesa, Leoni, Elliott, Robertson, Ngumoha.
Referee: Simon Hooper (Wiltshire).
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Preamble
Things tend to happen when these two meet. Newcastle United’s first domestic trophy in 70 years, to pluck one random example out of thin air …
… or the 3-3 thriller in this fixture last season …
… or the most famous Premier League match of them all, rendered here in retro style …
… and all of this is before considering the summer transfer saga which continues to rumble away. Once more with feeling, then. Kick-off is at 8pm UK time. It’s on!
