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Liverpool were held to another frustrating draw as Newcastle United rallied after being a goal down to pick up a point from their home tie. The away side made a few changes to their starting lineup as Daniel Sturridge started ahead of Roberto Firmino but unlike his previous four starts against the Magpies, he failed to find the back of the net.
Rafa Benitez's side had a clear game plan and despite going behind, they stuck to it rather than being expansive and opening themselves to the Liverpool attack. Coutinho had given Liverpool the lead with a typical strike from outside the edge.
However, Newcastle didn't have to wait long for the equaliser as former Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey played a defence-splitting pass to Joselu. The Spaniard was through on goal but had to rely on Joel Matip's tackle that ricocheted of him to beat a diving Simon Mignolet.
The second half saw a similar story as Liverpool threatened but couldn't really test Rob Elliot. Here are five talking points from the game.
#5 Sturridge fails to take his chance
Prior to the game, Sturridge was all over social media for his record against Newcastle. In his previous four games (before the recent clash, of course), the Englishman had scored in all four starts against Newcastle. Unlike those games, however, he was hardly given any time on the ball as Newcastle pressed the Liverpool attack quite well in their own half.
Sturridge managed four shots but only one of those was on target and was saved fairly easily by Elliot. Among all the attackers, however, he had the fewest touches (34) and looked off colour at St James' Park.
Against teams that play open football, Sturridge can be effective, but in games like this where he doesn't have the space to run into, the Englishman hardly has any impact.
#4 Rafa Benitez's setup neutralises Liverpool's front three
When you're facing Liverpool, it's pretty much a no-brainer to play a compact game at the back. Newcastle did the same but Rafa had another trick up his sleeve.
While teams usually play a low block against Liverpool, Newcastle allowed the team into their own half and then applied the press, which explains why the Merseyside outfit had so few shots on goal. They were often hurried into shooting and failed to test the Newcastle custodian.
Sadio Mane and Mo Salah made a few darting runs, but all of them came on the counter. When Liverpool had the ball in the Newcastle half, they failed to muster consistent clear-cut chances.
#3 Liverpool's midfield punished for momentary lapse in concentration
A goal up, and pretty much in the ascendency, Liverpool looked set to pick up the three points. Up until the equaliser, Newcastle looked pretty toothless as Joselu had failed to hold the ball up front and the likes of Atsu and Ritchie were ineffective with their runs.
However, all it took was a Jonjo Shelvey pass from his own half to break Liverpool's resilience. Liverpool's midfield duo of Jordan Henderson and Gini Wijnaldum had a decent game in terms of winning the ball back, but their positioning will be questioned as Shelvey's pass took out the midfield and defence to find Joselu.
While Matip did try and make an effort in tracking Joselu, so bad is Liverpool's luck that even decent attempts at tackling end up in their own net!
#2 Coutinho impresses again
Remember the time when Liverpool put four past Arsenal and there were calls that they were good enough without Coutinho in the team? Well, we know now how indispensable the little Brazilian is to the playing XI.
Coutinho managed four key passes in the final third and was the most creative player on the pitch. Newcastle's press, however, meant he had to drop deeper to collect the ball and make things happen. In a game like this, Liverpool would have arguably been better off with Firmino's composure on the ball than Sturridge's eagerness in losing it.
With a big game against Manchester United next, Liverpool have at least managed to re-integrate Coutinho into the attack. With three goals in his last three games in all competitions, Coutinho will be the player Liverpool will look up to when they take on the high-flying Manchester United side.
#1 Newcastle United defend Liverpool's aimless crosses pretty well
Liverpool have often come undone against a packed defence. Earlier today, with Newcastle's double midfield pivot, the openings mostly came from the wide areas with Joe Gomez and Alberto Moreno making the forward forays.
The duo of Jamaal Lascelles and Ciaran Clark did fairly well in clearing the crosses, and out of the 27 crosses Liverpool attempted, 14 were cleared by the defensive duo. The rest? Well, either Gomez or Moreno over hit them, or Liverpool failed to muster any sort of a chance.
Liverpool's story of running into a Cul-de-Sac has been well-documented so far this season and Benitez, thorough as he is, devised the game plan to push most of the away side's attacks out wide.
