Newcastle United failed to register a shot on target at Anfield as their horrendous record at this venue continued.
Arne Slot’s side did not even need to get out of second gear as they popped the ball around for fun at times and enjoyed 61% possession with a goal in each half. The Magpies will need to get back to the drawing board between now and Wembley but by then they should at least have their main man back.
The other debate may well surround the goalkeeping situation. Was Martin Dubravka dropped too easily on Sunday?
In two games, Nick Pope has conceded five goals and looked shaky again last night, leaving Eddie Howe with another big decision to ponder. Even the introduction of £65million worth of subs for Newcastle could not help trouble Liverpool keeper Álisson Becker.
United had been dealt a major blow before a ball had even been kicked when Alexander Isak was ruled out with a slight groin injury. The Reds dominated in the opening stages but a full-blooded Tino Livramento challenge on Konstantinos Tsimikas attempted to set the tone for United on Merseyside.
Newcastle managed to get out of the Liverpool press with nine minutes gone when Sandro Tonali slipped in Jacob Murphy but he put too much purchase on his cross and it sailed over the goal at the Kop end. Having ended the 4-3 defeat against Nottingham Forest in sloppy fashion from a defensive point of view, Newcastle got to the 10 minute mark at 0-0.
But there was a real air of disappointment about the manner of the opening goal right in front of the Newcastle fans. Luis Diaz got free down the left and cut the ball back for Dominik Szoboszlai who hit a tame shot at Nick Pope’s goal.
Diaz was free to run at Fabian Schar with the Swiss centre-back attempting to stand up the Colombia star before he calmly dinked it across goal for Szoboszlai who took a mild swipe at the ball before it went through Blyth lad Dan Burn’s legs and past Pope with the keeper not able to get a glove on it.
Pope had been restored to the posts only on Sunday but conceded his fourth goal in four days. As the game reached the 20 minute stage there was no evidence that this game could be any different to the annual Anfield defeat as Liverpool led and had 73% possession.
Callum Wilson did have the ball in the net in the opening quarter but was clearly offside with the linesman’s flag going straight up. Diaz was allowed to glide in again on 28 minutes but his pass to resulted in his team-mate Tsimikas wildly firing it wide of the mark.
Wilson got in again on 31 minutes and while the flag stayed down, the no.9 sent the ball well wide of the target. Pope got lucky on 36 minutes when trying to sweep clear but managed to hit the ball off Mo Salah before Liverpool earned a corner.
Salah would send one over the bar again on 39 minutes as the Reds looked a good bet for a second. But the Magpies went at the break trailing by just a solitary goal.
The second half started with Newcastle winning a free-kick after a foul on Tonali. The set-piece, which was 25 yards from goal, was struck by Gordon but it cannoned off the Liverpool wall.
On 50 minutes there was an injury scare as Wilson went down after a collision with Virgil van Dijk in the box and required treatment after a blow to the side of the head. Liverpool flexed their muscle when bringing on £44million sub Cody Gakpo for the final half hour as he replaced Diogo Jota.
Liverpool doubled their advantage on 63 minutes when Alexis Mac Allister’s driving run through the centre caught Newcastle napping with Lewis Hall out of position. Salah then turned both Burn and Hall inside out before the ex-Brighton ace swept home to make it 2-0.
It was a shot that was planted in the corner with Pope not getting close to making contact as the game slipped away from the Magpies at Anfield once again. That was the cue for Howe to make four changes with Kieran Trippier, Harvey Barnes, Lewis Miley and William Osula all coming on to try to salvage something but the backroom team knew they had a mountain to climb.
The Reds threw on Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez before the end to sum up their strength in depth while Howe turned to Sean Longstaff for a cameo.
Gakpo had the ball in the net in stoppage time as Pope fumbled the ball but Newcastle were saved by VAR. There have been worse trips to Anfield than this but you get the feeling Liverpool could have cranked things up much more if they’d wanted to.
Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Greater Manchester)
View news Source: https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/match-reports/newcastle-united-face-martin-dubravka-31089974
