As the rain continued to fall over Anfield and a frantic game between Liverpool and Newcastle unfolded, Eddie Howe stared down January as the cruelest month yet for his employment prospects.
Jurgen Klopp’s side could have beaten their opponents 8-2 but ended up beating their opponents 4-2. This was horrific for Howe as it left Newcastle with just one win in eight games. In other words: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund football project has lost seven of its last eight games, and their next three games scheduled until February look like this time at Anfield The journey is just as dangerous.
On Saturday we will drive half an hour to Sunderland for our FA Cup third round tie, followed by games against Manchester City (home) and Aston Villa (away). Newcastle being knocked out by their fiercest rivals in the final game of the season will set off alarms in Howe’s plush office.
The Championship side have either trailed or drawn when they were in town (January 13) and Villa (January 30), with Liverpool trailing Liverpool by three points after this win and Howe will have just one win in 11 games. field.
This is not the form of an upwardly mobile team owned by a nation-state looking to bolster Newcastle’s global reputation by transforming it into a continental heavyweight. At halftime, Howe and his team were still dreaming of starting 2024 with the right result, but only because Liverpool created a priest’s egg in the first half.
The good part is that they are close to total dominance. Too bad they couldn’t lead by three or four points to finish the game. The statistic that illustrates this is that Klopp’s side have failed to score on 18 shots: the most they have failed to score in the opening 45 minutes in eight years.
In a lively discussion, goals from Luis Dias and Dan Byrne were ruled out for offside, with Mohamed Salah’s penalty saved and Trent Alexander-Arnold’s follow-up, who came in close There was a shot on the crossbar from Martin Dubravka from the touchline, as well as three key saves from Newcastle’s deputy goalkeeper – Diaz and Darwin Nunez (twice).
Newcastle have not won here since Andy Cole and Rob Lee won 2-0 in April in 1994. Two years after Kevin Keegan delivered his infamous “I’d love it” rant in 1995-96, Newcastle United were serious contenders last season. There is hope that the 28-year gap may be bridged this term: those wearing the barcode shirts may not add a fifth league title to the club’s honours, but they will mount a credible challenge heading into the competition. The last few weeks.
but not. Regardless, the question now on the table is Howe and how long he can last as Newcastle’s No.1. Like Erik ten Hag, he overachieved last season, taking Newcastle fourth and reaching the Carabao Cup final, but unlike Manchester United there is no trophy ballast on manager Howe’s resume Stone, whose side lost to the Dutch in the Wembley show, then finished four points adrift of one spot in the Premier League.
Going into this game, Howe’s mood music was strange. If no one thinks a trip to Liverpool’s frenetic grounds is like a jog in the park, why should his players be reminded that they must be at their best to succeed here? He suggested it was because of those missing, but being the richest club in the world certainly has no sympathy for the injured list with Kieran Trippier and Callum Wilson unable to travel.
That brings those unavailable to double figures, but Howe can still field a line up front with Alexander Isak (the equalizer in Wilson’s place) and the impressive Tino Livera Tino Livramento is the right back (Tripier’s) eleven.
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Liverpool’s passing count was up 28-2 after just four minutes and it would take close to seven before Newcastle got the ball into Liverpool territory. Klopp’s side were a red swarm, flying in and out of possession thanks to the artistry of Alexander-Arnold and Salah.
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The difference is: in the 22nd minute, the latter’s penalty kick was saved, while the former scored the subsequent goal from close range. An excited Dias took a penalty kick shortly after Nunez’s goal was ruled out by VAR for offside.
Liverpool were in aristocratic mode, treating their away teams like a club, with their visitors having won 19 titles and their visiting teams having four, the last of which was in 1927. Salah changed his shoes at halftime, his last performance before joining the club. African Cup of Nations with Egypt: wearing new boots, he opened the scoring in the 49th minute and made amends for his earlier penalty miss with his second goal of the tournament near the end.
Those goals ended Isaac’s scoring run, with Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo giving Liverpool a 3-1 lead, with Sven Botman scoring Newcastle’s second. By the end of the game, Salah had scored 151 Premier League goals and Howe, soaked by the rain, said: “If my players continue to give it their all, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
However, they need to win – and quickly.
