“It was negative” - Steve Nicol slams 3 Liverpool players for making it look like Reds were playing with a man down instead of Newcastle in 3-2 win

Former Scotland international Steve Nicol has slammed three Liverpool stars after the win over Newcastle United. The ESPN pundit claimed that Virgil van Dijk, Mohamed Salah, and Ryan Gravenberch should have done more to control possession and not let the Magpies back in the game.

Liverpool needed a 100th-minute goal from 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha to seal a dramatic 3-2 win over Newcastle United, who were down to 10 men following the red card to Anthony Gordon late in the first half. They were 2-0 ahead with goals from Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike, but Bruno Guimaraes and William Osula pulled Newcastle United back level in the second half.

Nicol was not happy with how Arne Slot's side handled the game and called out the three experienced players in the side. He said on ESPN FC:

“[Liverpool looked like they were the team with a man down] because they stopped playing. On the field of play, particularly Van Dijk and Mo Salah, the experienced guys, [and] Gravenberch in the middle, they should have been on each other, and playing two-touch football. Get it out of your feet and roll it. You do that against 10 men, they won’t be able to get near you and you’ll kill them, their legs will go. Instead of that, everybody was having three and four touches, it was negative.”

Liverpool are third in the Premier League after two matches, level on points with Arsenal and Tottenham. They face the Gunners next in the league before the players split for the international break.

Liverpool manager not happy with Newcastle United in 3-2 win

Liverpool manager Arne Slot hit out at Newcastle United, claiming that it was not a football match at St. James' Park. He was not pleased with the tactics used by the home side and said (via Sky Sports):

"I'm not too sure if I saw a football match today. It was set-piece after set-piece, long throw. It didn't have a lot to do with tactics, what I said before the game, but I liked a lot how we stood strong. Very difficult first half hour, 45 minutes, but we didn't collapse at all, we stood strong.

"Going down to 10 men, you would expect that that is a big plus for us, but when a goalkeeper takes every free kick, then there's not so much help if you are one player up, and that's why it was so difficult for us to bring the 2-0 over the line."

Liverpool have conceded twice in both games after going up 2-0. They managed to edge out a 3-2 win against Newcastle United, while Salah and Federico Chiesa helped them get a 4-2 win over AFC Bournemouth.