Louise Taylor’s match report has landed, so I’ll leave you with that. Thanks for your company, happy new year, all our dreams will come true.
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The result means Liverpool are three points clear of Manchester United, having played a game more. They have now dropped 15 points in 16 league games, the same as they dropped in 38 last season. There was some good news in the return of Thiago, who was majestic when he came off the bench. They are still the team to beat going into 2021, though it’s closer than most of us expected.
Full time: Newcastle 0-0 Liverpool
Peep peep! Another unlikely result in this fascinating season. Liverpool, though not at their best, had the clearest chances and would have won but for some excellent goalkeeping from Karl Darlow.
90+3 min Liverpool have had 73 per cent of the possession in this game. They have another 60 seconds to find a winning goal.
90+2 min One last change for Liverpool: Xherdan Shaqiri replaces Mo Salah, who was unusually wasteful.
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90+1 min Thiago is laughably good. He looks like an 18-year-old playing under-11s football.
90 min There will be four added minutes.
89 min “Has Wilson been subbed,” says Richard Hirst, “or just gone very quiet after his good start to the game?”
The latter. Newcastle haven’t threatened at all in this half, expect from set-pieces.
88 min: Brilliant save from Darlow! Robertson’s corner from the right was met with an strong downward header by Firmino, and Darlow plunged to his right to push it away. That led to an almighty scramble in the area, but eventually Newcastle forced the ball away.
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88 min Alexander-Arnold whistles a sweet long-range shot that is blocked by Schar. Newcastle are hanging on desperately.
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87 min Robertson and Fernandez have a full and frank exchange of views. Alas, it doesn’t descend into a 21-man brawl.
87 min “Extraordinary stuff from Schar!” says Gary Naylor, lovingly lining up the inevitable pun. “It’s as if he could turn back time.”
86 min Newcastle make another change, this time at left wing-back: Jamal Lewis is on for Matt Ritchie.
85 min Hayden is booked for a late challenge on Thiago.
85 min Salah releases Wijnaldum on the right of the area. He looks up and tries to find Mane at the far post, but it’s a poor pass and Newcastle clear. This is Liverpool’s best spell of the match.
83 min Thiago plays another delicious pass out to Alexander-Arnold, but this time he’s fractionally offside.
82 min Since coming on, Thiago has been quite majestic.
80 min: Brilliant defending from Schar! Thiago sprays a gorgeous pass out to Alexander-Arnold on the right. He puts in a very dangerous cross that is pushed away by the diving Darlow. It hits Mane and bounces towards goal, but Schar somehow gets back to beat Mane to the ball and hook it off the line! What a piece of defending!
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79 min: Fine save from Alisson! Ritchie’s big, inswinging free-kick from the right is headed back across goal by Clark, and Alisson plunges to his left to push it behind. That’s another really good save, probably better than it looked because he made it with the minimum of fuss.
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78 min Phillips is booked for clattering Joelinton.
78 min A loose ball bounces up at Thiago, 25 yards out. He twists his body beautifully to smash a shot that is blocked just inside the area. He has already energised Liverpool; just before that he played one of those lovely no-look passes to Wijnaldum.
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76 min Salah is fouled on the right wing by Clark. Alexander-Arnold belts the free-kick straight into the wall.
73 min Thiago comes on to replace James Milner. He’ll probably manage 50 passes in the 20-odd minutes he’s on the field.
72 min Alexander-Arnold’s corner is headed away as far as Henderson, who spanks a half-volley into orbit from 25 yards. It was on his left foot, which might explain why it went straight up in the air.
72 min Salah slithers into the area, away from Clark, but Fernandez comes across to make a vital sliding tackle.
72 min Thiago Alcantara is preparing to come on for Liverpool. His last game was the derby against Everton in mid-October.
68 min: Another great chance for Liverpool! Robertson’s deep corner is completely missed by Darlow, who is in no man’s land when Firmino heads wide of an open goal from six yards. Firmino was backpedalling beyond the far post when he made contact; even so, like Salah a couple of minutes ago, he should have scored.
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68 min Gini Wijnaldum comes on for Liverpool in place of Curtis Jones, who has had a quiet game.
67 min Newcastle bring on Miguel Almiron for Jacob Murphy.
66 min: Salah misses an excellent chance! Firmino lost Schar beautifully on the halfway line, surged forward and found Salah on the right of the area. He cut inside Clark with ease, opened his body and placed a shot just wide of the far post. I reckon he would score that 19 times out of 20.
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66 min The best thing about the game so far has been the buddy-comedy commentary of Jon Champion and Ally McCoist. I’d listen to them talk about paint drying.
65 min Milner is booked for a late tackle on Joelinton.
63 min Lots of Liverpool possession, but still not much progression. The longer it stays 0-0, the greater the psychological benefit if they do win.
60 min If this does end in a draw, and that’s an appreciable if, Liverpool will have dropped as many points in the first 16 league games as they did throughout last season.
57 min Anyway, enough of the toe pokes and forgotten assists, as this game is surely going to liven up in the last half an hour. A storm is coming.
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56 min “I know Zidane’s 2002 Champions League final volley is always on people’s greatest goals list,” says Paulo Padilha, “but I feel like Roberto Carlos’ assist gets overlooked. What a ridiculous pass that was.”
Really? I thought he just helped it in the general direction of Zidane. Don’t get me wrong, he did pretty well, but I don’t think his contribution was as important as, say, Frank de Boer’s pass for Dennis Bergkamp against Argentina in 1998.
54 min Alexander-Arnold curls the corner to the near post, where Mane flashes a header into the side netting. That was a fine effort because he was running away from goal and met the ball in front of the near post.
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53 min Mane, who has been the liveliest of the front three, wins a corner for Liverpool. Robertson curls it towards the far post, where Clark heads it over his own bar. Another corner, this timeon the right...
53 min “Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “I appreciate the pointed discussion about toe pecks/bungs/pokes but what I’d really like to be reading about - sooner than later - is a Liverpool goal. Scored by whoever, with whatever legal body part pleases them, including the tip of the foot. Toe Salah, Curtis Toes, Divock Toe-rigi, Toe-ago Alcantara, anybody. Please!”
I can’t believe you missed out Roberto Firmino.
52 min Longstaff’s cross finds its way through to Joelinton, who fresh-airs a scissor kick from the edge of the area and lands painfully on his rump.
49 min Fabinho is booked for cynically flattening Yedlin, who knocked the ball one side of Fabinho and tried to run round the other. Fabinho promptly disabused him of this notion.
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47 min Remember when, etc.
46 min Peep peep! Newcastle begin the second half.
“Wasn’t this - El Diego’s second against England - completed with a toe poke?” says Paul Griffin. “I can barely watch it, as it reminds me of me before the leg injury.”
I thought it was the side of the foot, though there are a few people who still think it was a toe poke from Terry Butcher.
“Forgotten assists,” says Jonny Lewis. “Hughes to Robins in January 90. Hughes is one of the most unique footballers I have ever seen and his brilliance has possibly been forgotten - I suppose it is a long time ago! Big goals, held the ball like no other, loads of subtlety and imagination in his game and the volleys. Plus, he was so tough and aggressive. Hughesie!”
We spoke about this recently on – brazen plug alert – the United Rewind podcast. His hold-up play is as good as I’ve ever seen. Also one of the great big-game players.
Episode two of United Rewind is OUT NOW!@DanielHarris & Rob Smyth look back at a monster of a performance from Robbo, Norman and the rest in the epic 1985 FA Cup semi-final win over Liverpool. https://t.co/d2WJnEm5sa#MUFC pic.twitter.com/60FmL2sZhu
— United Rewind (@unitedrewind) December 9, 2020
Half-time quiz
Half-time toe-poke chit-chat
“We called it a ‘bull toe’ in County Clare, I think because when we were in primary school using plastic footballs, it was still the strongest straight shot you could take” – John O’Donovan.
“I’m counting this as a toe poke because it’s my second favourite ‘How did that happen?’ goal ever” – Gary Naylor.
“The best toe poke was of course that Lee Trundle penalty in a charity match a few years back” – Chris Martin.
Half time: Newcastle 0-0 Liverpool
Peep peep! A subdued first half comes to an end. Liverpool started very slowly but looked more threatening in the last 15 minutes of the half; Newcastle still have plenty of work to do.
45+1 min: Chance for Liverpool! Mane flips a half-volleyed cross towards Firmino, whose header is pushed away dramatically by the diving Darlow. He was going the wrong way and had to change direction, though it was still a save he would expect to make. Firmino, usually such a good header of the ball, didn’t put it anywhere near the corner.
45 min Newcastle will be really pleased with how the first half has gone. Apart from one ominous five-minute spell, Liverpool have lacked their usual relentlessness.
42 min Firmino plays a through ball towards Salah, or Mane, he doesn’t really care. Yedlin gets between them to make a vital interception.
41 min “Klinsmann’s effort was definitely outside-of-the-boot filth, which opens up a whole new avenue of incredible goals (hello, Ricardo Quaresma),” says Matt Dony. “I’m philosophically torn by much outside of the boot work. On the one hand, it’s one of the most aesthetically pleasing ways a football can be struck. On the other hand, it’s often done because some professional footballers will do almost anything to avoid using their ‘wrong’ foot.”
You’ve been watching Seba Veron videos again, haven’t you.
40 min Murphy’s low shot on the turn is comfortably saved by Alisson. Milner is down after an aerial challenge with Fernandez, and gives the assistant referee a mouthful when he gets to his feet. Is it just me or have Liverpool been very angsty this season?
36 min Liverpool are looking really dangerous now. Mane’s lofted ball is pulled down acrobatically on the left of the area by Firmino. He reverses it to the onrushing Robertson, but he’s moving too fast and can’t control the ball while running at 247mph. That was another chance.
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34 min: Fine save from Darlow! Henderson drives a long pass over the defence to Salah, who was played on by Ritchie. He takes it down immaculately, opens his body and sidefoots a low shot that is pushed round the post superbly by the outrushing Darlow. He just managed to get a fingertip on the shot, which would otherwise have gone in the bottom corner.
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32 min Robertson’s cross is miscontrolled at the near post by Firmino, which allows Clark to come across and intercept. That was a chance - especially for somebody like Firmino, whose boots are usually made of 50 per cent velvet and 50 per cent velcro.
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31 min “We used to call them toe pecks when I was young,” says Ruth Purdue. “Anyway, any toe bung one on one with the keeper is the best type of toe bung in my humble opinion. Ruud did it a few times from what I remember?”
I can’t picture that, though that doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. The one that immediately comes to mind for Man Utd is Eric Cantona against City in April 1994. Romario was the best one-on-one toe-bunger I’ve ever seen though.
Also, I bet David Mellor called them toe pecks as well.
30 min Jones turns neatly in midfield and finds Mane on the left. His first-time cross towards Salah is deflected behind for a corner.
29 min “Romario was the toey master,” says CB. “With the right footwear I’m convinced this technique can turn anyone into a lethal five-a-side finisher.”
28 min This is threatening to become another dismal first-half performance away from home from Liverpool, to go with Brighton, Fulham, Aston Villa and some others that I’ve probably forgotten. It’s hard to fathom, because I don’t think it’s complacency.
26 min “Good evening Robert,” says Simon Whitworth. “I played snow football with my son today. He remarked at how hot it kept us both and asked why Premier League footballers required gloves. He makes a good point.”
It’s rather sweet to hear that, even in his late forties, Roy Keane still plays snow football with his dad.
25 min Milner curls a terrific pass over the defence to Alexander-Arnold, who half-volleys a tame cross/shot into Darlow’s arms. I think he was trying to find Mane at the far post; either way, he didn’t connect properly.
23 min Callum Wilson is pulling onto Phillips at every opportunity, with a fair bit of success. He’s been the best player on the pitch by a mile so far.
23 min “To my eyes, Newcastle have been the better team so far,” says Kári Tulinius . “Liverpool have been oddly misgrooved, not settling back into their rhythm as I expected after last game’s poor performance. Mind you, with the attackers Liverpool have, they don’t really need the whole team clicking, any one of them can win a game on their own.”
That’s a really important point, and one of the things that makes them so devastating. There were a fair few games last season when they didn’t play that well but won games 2-1 through a moment of brilliance and/or demented desire.
22 min Nothing much is happening. Liverpool have started poorly by their stratospheric standards.
20 min “Here’s my toe-poke nomination,” says Stuart MacKenzie, “the second goal in this 3-0 win, from Jurgen Klinsmann.”
Is that a toe poke or the outside of the foot? It’s borderline but I’d say the latter. Either way, it’s a brilliant goal.
19 min Newcastle have a corner, so Yedlin’s cross-shot must have taken a deflection off Robertson. Nothing comes of the corner.
18 min Andy Robertson is receiving treatment. He was accidentally caught on the Achilles by Yedlin when he tried to block that cross shot. He’s limping but he’s going to continue.
18 min “I don’t share your view of Newcastle’s security, even without my hopeful Fulham goggles on,” says Richard Hirst. “They were largely outplayed by Fulham, and without Wilson’s well timed ‘stumble’ would have been Fulham’s third victory, which does not say a lot for them.”
Fulham are a good side, who drew with Liverpool and won at Leicester. We’ll see but I don’t think they’ll go down.
17 min: Another chance for Newcastle! Wilson wriggles away from Fabinho 20 yards from goal and plays a nice angled pass to the marauding Yedlin. He drives a cross-shot that goes through the legs of Robertson and drifts well wide of the far post. Newcastle have started really well, Wilson in particular.
16 min Milner dirties Darlow’s gloves with a crisp low shot from 25 yards. It was a comfortable save for Darlow, low to his left.
14 min “Evening Rob,” says Simon McMahon. “If we’re talking toe-pokes, Dave Narey for Scotland against Brazil in 1982 would have to be up there. According to Jimmy Hill at least.”
12 min: Great block from Fabinho! Longstaff sprays a nice pass out to Wilson on the left wing. He slows down to draw Phillips in and then surges away from him into the area, a classic bit of centre-forward play. Wilson eventually whips a shot from a tight angle that is blocked by Fabinho, stretching in front of Alisson.
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12 min Clark is booked for a tactical foul on Milner.
12 min “Am I old enough,” says Michael Messenie, “to remember when this match came up every year it was non-stop hype expecting it to be the cracker we witnessed on that night of Collymore/Fowler infamy?”
Well, I don’t know, are you? You’re right, though, that went on for years. It’s like Arsenal and Man Utd now, which is usually trailed with footage of Keane and Vieira from 15-20 years ago.
11 min Liverpool are starting to get some rhythm in their passing. Karl Darlow’s gloves remain unsullied, though, and Newcastle will be happy as long as that’s the case.
9 min Alexander-Arnold’s corner is headed behind by Clark for another. This one is headed away, and life goes on.
8 min Robertson’s first dangerous cross is chested behind for a corner by Matt Ritchie. Liverpool have started slowly but that was a good move.
6 min Murphy’s free-kick from the right is headed not far wide by Wilson. He met it at the near post, 12 yards out, and flicked a header across Alisson that zipped past the far post. Alisson was scrambling across his line, which is telling because he usually plays with a resting heart rate.
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6 min Our own Daniel Harris writes in to say that the Brazilian toe-bung comes from futsal, which is played with a smaller, heavier ball. That would explain it.
5 min “I’m hoping for a big Liverpool win as I still think Newcastle can be dragged into the relegation mire and give Fulham another lifeline option,” says Richard Hirst. “Steve Bruce’s negativity can’t help them: complaining about not having any money means anybody they do buy knows they are only a second choice, and those already at the club know they are third choice. Reminds me of D Moyes when he was in the North East.”
I think that’s a bit harsh. Managers moan all the time about not having money. Either way, I’d be pretty surprised if Newcastle went down, certainly if Callum Wilson stays fit.
3 min The corner skims off the head of Clark (I think) and goes wide of the far post. It wasn’t much of a chance; about an tenth-chance if you want the full xG experience.
2 min Wilson mishit cross is pushed over by the stretching Alisson. That would have been an interesting start to the game.
2 min “Re: Ronaldinho’s toe poke against Chelsea in ‘05: I was there at Stamford Bridge that night, and ever since I have often tried the cheeky toe poke during five-a-side games with friends/frenemies,” says Martin Scott. “Sometimes it worked! Mostly it didn’t though, but when it did it was GLORIOUS. Maybe the next Joy of Six should be Toe Pokes? Please consider.”
It would just be a load of Brazilians, and Steve McMahon. Ronaldinho, Ronaldo in the 2002 World Cup semi-final, Romario against everyone. That’s what interests me about the toe poke – it’s seen as the preserve of the oaf, yet it’s most popular in Brazil, where they fully appreciate the element of surprise. I’ll suggest it to the football editor!
1 min Peep peep! Liverpool kick off from left to right.
The players are ready. It’s a pretty pleasant night in Newcastle, although some forecasts suggest it could snow before the game is over.
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“Evening Rob,” says Richard Preston. “Something that always goes under the radar with that Suarez goal is how good the assist from Jose Enrique was. Probably the best thing he did in a Liverpool shirt (admittedly that’s a low bar), and no one knows he even did it.”
Ha, that’s a good point. We should do the Joy of Six: Forgotten Assists.
On reflection, I’m annoyed I didn’t include Suarez v Newcastle in this piece. Maybe it was too fresh in the memory. Shame, as I could have stroked my chin quite beautifully whilst pontificating about it.
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“Supporting Liverpool these last few years has involved some tremendous fun,” says Matt Dony. “ There have been astonishing performances, and some unbelievable football leading to fantastic goals. Beauty and bludgeon in equal measure. But, I’m not sure anything has quite matched the insouciant genius of Suarez’s goal against Newcastle.
“I’ve seen many more ‘spectacular’ goals, but nothing that matches that particular combination of unworldly skill, arrogant execution and general air of ‘Try what you want, you can’t stop me’ that Suarez exuded at his best. There have been a number of classic encounters between these two teams (including THAT match, obviously), but these days my thoughts drift immediately to 2012, and a handful of touches that seemed to defy physics.”
This. I love unique goals, and that’s one of the greats. It’s an astounding goal. Never mind the actual touches; the speed of thought alone is beyond comprehension.
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“Season’s greetings Rob!” says Martin McCarthy. “There seems to be a fair bit of confidence among Guardian writers that Liverpool are title favourites but with van Dijk and Gomez out for the long term and Matip unable to remain uninjured for long, it feels that defensively A LOT is riding on Fabinho staying healthy for the remainder of the season. Perhaps I’m allowing my natural pessimism to get the better of me though...”
Do you think they’ll buy in January? It’s tricky because if they buy a top-class centre back, what happens to Gomez (and even Fabinho) next season? The best thing might be to loan a solid, experienced centre-back, though nobody comes to mind.
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“Hi Rob,” says David Wall. “At what point can you say that there is a genuine contest for the title? Almost half of the season has been played and there are six points between the top nine teams (yes, Liverpool can go five points clear this evening but they’ll have then played a game more than most other sides).
“I saw that Solskjaer was trying to play down the idea yesterday, suggesting you couldn’t really say there was a proper contest until about 30 games had been played). But last year the title was almost decided by this point. And considering that no side has shown any likelihood of achieving the kind of consistency Liverpool had last year then you’d expect it to stay pretty close from here, wouldn’t you? Or is it really too soon to tell, especially with there being so much uncertainty about fixture scheduling, the effects of infection on players, potential breaks in any football at all, and so on?”
This reminds me a few of the seasons in the 1990s (and 2001-02, the great forgotten title race), when the table was often very tight at Christmas before one or two teams pulled away with crazy winning/unbeaten runs. I’d expect the same to happen here with Liverpool and Manchester City (if Sergio Aguero stays fit).
United are the most intriguing element of the title race. If they win at Anfield in January it will make things deliciously interesting, but my feeling is it’s still too soon for them to challenge. I said Liverpool by 10+ points at the start and I’m sticking with that. If I was a Liverpool fan I’d be slightly worried about how little Jurgen Klopp rotates, but I still think they’ll be too good.
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Some more pre-match reading
Spurs were supposed to be playing Fulham right now, but the match was postponed at the last minute because of a Covid outbreak at Fulham. That didn’t impress Jose Mourinho much.
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Pre-match reading
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Team news
Steve Bruce has made one change to the Newcastle side that lost 2-0 at Manchester City on Boxing Day: Callum Wilson replaces Miguel Almiron.
There’s some positive injury news for Liverpool, with James Milner returning to the starting line-up and Thiago Alcantara among the substitutes. Nat Phillips starts at centre-half in place of the injured Joel Matip.
Newcastle (3-4-2-1) Darlow; Clark, Fernandez, Schar; Yedlin, Hayden, M Longstaff, Ritchie; Murphy, Joelinton; Wilson.
Substitutes: Dubravka, Lewis, Krafth, Shelvey, Hendrick, Almiron, S Longstaff, Carroll, Gayle.
Liverpool (4-3-3) Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Phillips, Fabinho, Robertson; Jones, Henderson, Milner; Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Substitutes: Kelleher, R Williams, N Williams, Wijnaldum, Thiago, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Shaqiri, Minamino, Origi.
Referee Paul Tierney.
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to live coverage of Newcastle v Liverpool from St James’ Park. It’s the last Premier League game of 2020, and Liverpool’s final match of a momentous year in which they won their first league title since 1990. Their title defence hasn’t reached the same awesome heights, at least not consistently, but they are still top and will move five points clear of Manchester United if they win tonight. It’s not exactly a crisis.
Newcastle have had a decent season in terms of results, especially given the Covid outbreak that hit them so hard, but there has been the usual discontent over their style of play. They won’t be turning into Brazil 1970 tonight, understandably so given the opposition. If Newcastle draw 1-1 through a thrice-deflected 94th-minute goal from Jonjo Shelvey, having had 4 per cent of the possession, they’ll have had a good night. Any change in style will have to wait till next year.
Kick off 8pm.
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