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Newcastle United were next in line to stop Liverpool's charge at the top of the table, but like Southampton, Arsenal, and Burnley, the Magpies were unable to keep Liverpool at bay. Today's rout ended in favour of the Reds who certainly deserved it.
When Newcastle beat Tottenham Hotspur a couple of weeks back, one thing was clear: the Magpies are willing to defend with their lives. Going into this game, Liverpool fans had the same small worry. Will Newcastle hold only 20% possession, defend with their lives, score on one counter-attack, and win the game? They'll be glad it didn't happen, but it actually almost did!
Seven minutes into the game, a high ball to Christian Atsu allowed Newcastle to start a three-player counter-attack. Wingback Jetro Williams found his way into the box from the left flank and received the ball from Atsu. He dribbled onto his right foot to free himself from Trent Alexander-Arnold and sent a piledriver past Liverpool second choice keeper Adrian into the far-right corner of the goal.
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To say that Newcastle fans were ecstatic would be an understatement. It seemed like Newcastle were getting set to repeat what they did against Tottenham.
However, 21 minutes after the first goal, Liverpool's consistent pressure paid off. Andrew Robertson received a through-ball from Virgil van Dijk down the left-wing, blew past his marker, and flicked the ball to an unmarked Sadio Mane. A hard shot into the far right corner by Mane levelled the game for Liverpool.
Near the stroke of half-time, a tussle in the midfield led to the beginning of Newcastle's downfall. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was dispossessed after a poor touch on the ball. After a short tussle, Joelinton passed the ball to Atsu, perhaps to begin a counter. Atsu failed to release the ball quickly enough and ended up losing it to Roberto Firmino.
Newcastle's half suddenly did not have enough Newcastle players as Firmino laid a threaded through ball to Sadio Mane. Magpies keeper Dubravka came off his lines on time to stop the onslaught, only for his body to hit the ball at Mane and end up bouncing right in front of goal. It was all free for Mane to flick it into the net and hand Liverpool their second goal of the day.
72 minutes into the game, Liverpool were searching for a way in. Mohamed Salah veered out of his position to collect the ball in the middle, passed it into Firmino and started his run. Firmino gave a world-class flick back to Salah that simply damned the entire Newcastle defence.
Newcastle's defence put up a solid effort against this Liverpool side, but one mistake from Atsu and a Firmino flick-on set the odds in Liverpool's favour.
Let's take a look at three reasons why Liverpool saw off Newcastle's challenge in a classic game of football.
#3 Liverpool overloaded the Newcastle defence
The Reds proved to be unstoppable once more, even against this strong Newcastle defence. Liverpool overpowered the Magpies throughout the game, getting 76% possession with much of it in Newcastle's half. There were certain instances where Newcastle looked to score, thanks to a high Liverpool defence line, but they did not take their chances readily.
With only three goals from 21 shots for Liverpool, it is quite clear that Newcastle put in a strong-hearted effort. However, it was not to be for the Magpies. The Reds controlled the midfield, marauded down the flanks, constantly rushed into the box, and drove Newcastle as deep as possible. At the end of it all, a 3-1 win is a reasonable reward for Liverpool's hard work.
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#2 Newcastle failed to make their chances count
Granted, the Newcastle attack can't exactly be compared to Liverpool's, but an early goal from Jetro Williams should have set the confidence and the tone for the Magpies. What happened, instead, were wasted opportunities that gave them no fighting chance.
Joelinton aided his team in good form by winning eight aerial duels, but nothing serious came out of it. Newcastle took eight shots at goal, scoring the only shot they had on target. Most of their opportunities came down the left flank, but they were unable to build on it. They were constantly caught offside, lost possession a lot - to the point it led to the second goal and committed a number of individual errors that saw Liverpool's teamwork run them down.
#1 Roberto Firmino came on the pitch to change the game
Roberto Firmino came on as a substitute for Divock Origi due to an injury early on in the game, and the Brazilian's presence was well-felt. He troubled the Newcastle defence constantly, laying off passes that constantly took everyone not on his team by surprise.
Sadio Mane's second goal resulted from a quick through-pass from Firmino. Salah's goal that settled Liverpool's lead came from a flick nobody - maybe except Salah - saw coming. Firmino's presence on the pitch gave Liverpool two great goals. Although he didn't get on the scoresheet, his style of play and work rate cannot be faulted.
