Key events
More reports …
Tottenham v Man City
Brentford v Everton
Alexis Mac Allister: “I think it is a desire to win trophies, we know that this season we have the opportunity win some. We are really happy, working really hard and hopefully we can keep going.
“We didn’t start the second half as we wanted. I like to get into these positions and I am really happy to get the goal.
“We need the days off, we were tired. It will be good to have some rest and days off.”
Dom Szoboszlai: “I am really happy to help the team and that is the most important. If we are first in the league, I am happy.
“After mathematically they have no chance to get us [we will celebrate]. We are 13 points clear and really happy.”
You might as well read the reports from elsewhere tonight.
Forest v Arsenal.
Man United v Ipswich
Full time! Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle
Liverpool really are, as mentioned at the top, the most effective and efficient team going. They were left untroubled by Newcastle and scored two fine goals to send them 13 points clear at the top.
90+6 mins: McCoist hands man of the match to Szoboszlai. Salah has also been excellent but we seem to accept that as a given nowadays.
90+4 mins: Gakpo sets himself up for an overhead kick but fires it wide. What a wonderful ending to the match that would have been.
Nunez puts in some hard yards to close down. He gets an appreciative roar from the home fans.
90+2 mins: Liverpool can give their full focus to the Champions League now.
“If there was still any doubt about the destination of the title I’d say that’s been put to bed tonight,” says Kitt. “It would take a collapse of biblical proportions for Liverpool to not become champions now.
”Liverpool are almost certainly going to be level on 20 titles with UTD, but well ahead on European glory. Firmly back on their perch.”
90 mins: NO GOAL! A corner is swung into the box, Pope comes to claim but drops it under pressure from Konate and the ball is poked up. It is soft but the referee says it is a foul.
Seven minutes added.
88 mins: Salah almost gets his goal; he drives into the box after a pass from Szoboszlai and then shoots with the outside of his foot but Pope gets down well to his right.
Jones for Mac Allister, Nunez for Diaz. Meanwhile, Newcastle have replaced Guimaraes with Longstaff.
86 mins: Jones and Nunez are readied. Time to shine, Darwin. McCoist, it transpires, does not read the written press and has no idea that Slot is unhappy with the Uruguayan. I go to these press conferences just for you, Ally!
84 mins: Liverpool are just knocking it around at the back. They seem gloriously unflustered and Newcastle do not have much left to give.
82 mins: Mac Allister is down and is holding his hip after being caught by Guimaraes.
Ben Wilkinson emails: “Salah deserves all the plaudits he’ll get for an outstanding season even by his own high standards, including (surely?) the 2025 Ballon d’Or, but can we also take a moment to appreciate van Dijk. Defenders are rarely as eye-catching as creative players, but he’s been the foundation of Liverpool’s procession to the title. So good he rarely has to resort to traditional defending.”
It is no surprise that Van Dijk, Gravenberch and Salah have played every PL game.
80 mins: Newcastle need to find some inspiration here because it feels a bit like they are going through the motions, not convinced they can actually score.
Barnes wins them a corner off Konate. It is cleared and Salah breaks but he is pulled back repeatedly by Murphy, who goes into the book.
78 mins: Endo on for Gravenberch, Quansah for Alexander-Arnold.
76 mins: Diaz attempts a pass but sends it straight out for a throw. THE WHEELS ARE COMING OFF!
75 mins: Maybe a few moments of calm are required after that silly spell of action. Gordon whips in a corner but Van Dijk heads away.
Endo and Quansah are prepared for Liverpool. No Nunez …
73 mins: Salah plays a cracking ball with the outside his left boot but Alexander-Arnold cannot get a touch on it to test Pope.
Newcastle have a decent chance down the other end but no one could reach the rebound after Alisson pushes a cross out.
It is breathless stuff as down the other end, Salah once again flicks a pass with the outside of his boot. This time Diaz is on the end of it but he jabs wide.
71 mins: Diaz is caught by someone or other and limps away with pain. One would assume Liverpool will not take any risks with players considering where they are in the table. They even get the weekend off before playing PSG a week tonight.
69 mins: Liverpool play a dreadful short corner and Newcastle clear. I suspect Slot will recover from that.
Osula, Miley, Barnes AND Trippier on. Wilson, Tonali, Livramento and Willock off.
67 mins: Anfield is singing about winning the title. Some might say that is overconfidence, I would just suggest it’s factual.
Chris Paraskevas writes: “All that’s required now is for Darwin Nunez to enter for his customary return-to-form against us (complete with goalkeeping rick) and the cycle of life will be complete.”
Will Slot give him a chance to show off his workrate?
65 mins: Gordon gets in round the back of the Liverpool defence and pulls the ball back but only red shirts are waiting.
Howe has prepared three subs: Osula, Miley and Barnes incoming.
GOAL! That is game over, isn’t it? Mac Allister drives into the box and lays it off to Salah who manipulates some space, allowing him to pick out the Argentinian who whacks home from 12 yards or so.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle (Mac Allister, 63)
Fantastic feet from Salah from an emphatic finish from Mac Allister.
62 mins: Mac Allister takes down Guimaraes from behind. This second half been a little stop-start with the need for physios and repeated fouls.
60 mins: Burn cleans out Szoboszlai and the referee is not happy with the Newcastle man.
Cody Gakpo is suited and booted. Slot is still treating Jota carefully amid his unfortunate injury record.
58 mins: Good news for Liverpool: Arsenal drew 0-0 at Forest. They will increase their lead at the top to 13 if they hold on here.
56 mins: Tsimikas gets caught by Murphy. The Greek is not happy.
54 mins: Are you a reader Tim/Nick? “Hopefully your new neighbour is reading this MBM, recognises himself and emails in to clarify…”
Maybe, Patrick Crumlish.
52 mins: We had a healthy delay but Van Dijk and Wilson are both back at it.
50 mins: Gordon whips in a dangerous cross from the left and Wilson flicks a header towards goal but it flicks off Van Dijk. It also turns out the two players clashed and they both need treatment. Wilson looks to have suffered the worse of the damage.
49 mins: The medical attention does the trick and the Liverpool midfielder gets up, although he has a bloody nose and needs more treatment on the sidelines.
47 mins: Newcastle win a free-kick around 20 yards from goal in a very central position. Gordon and Schar argue over who should take it. Gordon smashes it into the wall and more specifically Szoboszlai’s face, forcing the Hungarian to the turf.
Howe had a long chat on the touchline with sub Harvey Barnes. I assume we will see him at some point.
Ben Bronx emails: “As a Newcastle United fan, given our record at Anfield and the season that Liverpool are having, I didn’t expect to get anything out this game. Especially without Isak. However I was hoping to see us at least put up more of a fight. We just seem so passive. TNT Sports commentators Darren Fletcher and Ally McCoist probably spent more time in that first half discussing the Boxing that took place over the weekend than they did talking about Newcastle United in possession of the football.”
Second half
Here we go again!
Matt Dony asks: “Are we completely discounting the idea of breaking into your neighbour’s house, and looking for his passport?”
He lives at 123 Fake St. Doe your worst.
Half-time reading …
Half time: Liverpool 1-0 Newcastle
Liverpool have been the better side but Newcastle had Isak in the time, they could be level. Wilson has missed a fine chance to equalise but the hosts have dominated.
45 mins: One minute added on.
44 mins: Mac Allister is taken down by Guimares. It is a poorly-executed tackle and the Argentinian wants a more than a free-kick but the referee is having none of it.
Chris Paraskevas has provided photographic evidence of this: “I w̶a̶s̶t̶e̶d̶ blessed so many childhood hours with Olympic Soccer.
‘WHACK!’
”Still got it (working) on PS1, might fire it up instead of watching the 2nd half / searching for a Witch Doctor.”
It was a gloriously simple game. I think it came free with my PS1.
42 mins: Burn crashes into Van Dijk and gives away a free-kick inside the Liverpool half.
Stephen McCrossan writes: “While I can understand your view that the perpetrator of a foul throw should get a three-match ban, I’d argue that the real villains are the players who either pull their shorts up on their thighs or their socks over their knees. Life ban would be reasonable.”
We can ban everyone, don’t worry.
40 mins: Salah receives a pass on the right-hand side, he cuts in and curls a shot towards the top corner but it goes just over.
On the upside, I can say ‘I was there’ when Liverpool lost against Nottingham Forest. I have a suspicion it will be their only defeat this season.
38 mins: Fletcher and McCoist are rightly pointing out that Salah is the best in the world and playing the finest football of his career. No one could argue.
36 mins: Szoboszlai has a good chance for a second. He curls a shot from the edge of the box at the first time of asking but he puts too much whip on it and his effort slides wide.
Dan Christmas emails: “Surely if you haven’t introduced yourself yet, you just say ‘Hi I’m Will’ and then he’ll say his name? Or have I been terribly rude by not pre-learning people’s names I may potentially meet? I’m autistic so this is a genuine question…”
This does seem a sensible policy, I just fear he thinks I already know his name as he has spoken to my wife.
35 mins: The ball reaches Pope just outside the box. He tries to play a tentative pass out but kicks it straight at Salah. Thankfully for the goalkeeper the ball runs out for a goal kick and Pope’s blushes are spared.
34 mins: “It’s 4.48am and I’m anxiously watching The Reds with their one nil lead against Newcastle,” says Dom Parry. “I’m reminded of a stat my old school footy coach used to tell us defenders: ‘Never forget, 100% of equalisers are scored after you’ve taken the lead! Focus!’”
32 mins: Marie Meyer writes: “I recall Alan Green commentating on a poor-quality match which put him in a bad mood. He expostulated that a corner taker who fails to clear the first man should be fined by his club, and anyone who commits a foul throw should be docked a month’s wages.”
My kind of man. Does anyone remember him commentating on a computer game named Olympic Soccer?
31 mins: Wilson gets beyond Konate and latches onto a pass round the corner. Once again the striker is through on goal but he miscues the finish, which flies wide.
30 mins: Tsimikas gets the ball in inside the box after great work from Diaz but his right-footed shot is wayward and flies well over.
“The essential point is that, if your wife says the neighbor’s name is Tim, his name is Tim,” suggests Peter Oh. “Even if it turns out that it’s Nick. Have you not learned this yet?!
“By the way, I’m pleased that Szoboszlai’s shot found its way past the Newcastle keeper Nick Pope. Or is it Tim Pope?”
28 mins: Andy Flintoff on the earlier penalty shout: “Before Salah is tripped by Hall’s arm across his legs, he runs straight through him, pushing him over, which is what the referee penalised. However, Hall was making no attempt to shield or play the ball as he was looking straight at Salah, so it possibly could have been given as obstruction against him for the block (but is never given when it happens at set pieces).”
27 mins: Gordon is penalised for a foul throw after failing to put the ball behind his head. I think that should be an instant three-match ban.
26 mins: Gordon does well out on the right and earns space but his low cross is cut out.
“A recent commentary on Liverpool is how lucky they’ve been with injuries and not missing key men,” says Gary. “For the record, Allison has already missed 9 league games, 1/4 of a full season. Konate and Alexander Arnold also missed long chunks with Gomez and Bradley filling in. Jota has missed most of the season. Players have stepped up is the difference.”
24 mins: It is all Liverpool and Salah is ramping things up. He tries a pass which just does not reach its target and then goes for a mazy run into the box, only to be stopped at the last minute.
Kevin emails: “I wish Liverpool still had James Milner in games like this. I would dearly love someone to put in a clean but crunching reducer on Gordon and players of his ilk. Anyone who dives that much needs a reminder of what a hard tackle really feels like.”
22 mins: Newcastle have a free-kick in the Liverpool half. It is chipped up to the edge of the box and cleared. Diaz races away and slips in Jota, who could shoot but decides to cross for Salah. Newcastle have Hall to thank for beating the Egyptian to it and danger is averted.
There are plenty of spare seats around Slot. He must have been able to fill them with comps.
20 mins: Stat from Darren Fletcher on TNT: Liverpool have lost once in the past 91 league games after conceding first.
Gravenberch is taken down by Guimaraes. It could be a booking because it is cynical but the referee just talks to the Newcastle man.
Article by:Source: Will Unwin
