Jurgen Klopp did not exactly hold back with his post-match assessment. "The only plan they had, obviously, was long balls to our right side," the Liverpool boss said of Newcastle United following his side's 1-0 win on Saturday.
That tactic unnerved Liverpool a little in the opening stages as Joelinton won a number of headers from goal kicks and left-back Andy Robertson was the first to admit that Newcastle's record signing was 'causing us a couple of problems early on'. However, Liverpool soon adapted and limited Joelinton's influence and Newcastle lacked a threat in the final third thereafter as the Magpies again lined up without a recognised striker.
Eddie Howe started with Allan Saint-Maximin up front in the hope that the Frenchman could hurt the Reds through the middle on the break, but the experiment did not work. However, even when a traditional target man like Chris Wood was brought on midway through the second half, tellingly, the hosts did not look like scoring.
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It is important to note, of course, that it does not just fall to the hard-working Wood to score goals in this side and the burden has been shared around in recent months. Allan Saint-Maximin, Jonjo Shelvey, Ryan Fraser (two), Kieran Trippier (two), Joe Willock (two), Joelinton (three), Fabian Schar (two), Chris Wood (two), Bruno Guimaraes (four) and Miguel Almiron have all got on the scoresheet in 2022.
Newcastle have certainly found a way to win without the injured Callum Wilson, which the Magpies struggled to do in a previous era not so long ago, but Saturday was also a reminder of how much the number nine has been missed. Wilson plays right on the shoulder of defenders, and asks questions with his pace and movement, but the Magpies' top scorer still has a knack of staying onside. In contrast, on Saturday, Newcastle's forwards were flagged a whopping nine times.
Also, most importantly, even when Wilson is seemingly having a quiet game, the 30-year-old can pop up with a huge goal without requiring a host of chances or even regular service and Newcastle lacked that element of surprise against Liverpool. Wilson is one of the best match day finishers in the Premier League, after all, and the striker rarely scores mere consolation goals. In fact, this season alone, Wilson has scored openers against Burnley, Norwich, Spurs and West Ham and equalisers against Southampton and Crystal Palace.
Remarkably, despite not playing since suffering a calf injury last December, Wilson remains Newcastle's top scorer with six goals. If only the former England international could stay fit.
It was one thing failing to carry a threat from open play without Wilson on Saturday but, from set-piece situations, too, Newcastle failed to put Liverpool under any pressure. Goals from corners or free kicks have helped Newcastle record narrow wins against Southampton, Brighton and Leicester City recently, but the Magpies' deliveries were consistently poor on Saturday.
Newcastle may have failed to win a single corner kick on Saturday, but Howe's side did win 11 free-kicks - which was as many as Liverpool did. However, Newcastle did not make that territory count and failed to force Alisson into a save of note.
Just as Wilson's goal threat was missed so, too, were Kieran Trippier's deliveries and Howe will at least know that, fitness permitting, these leaders will add another dimension to this side in these sorts of games in the future - perhaps even before the start of next season. Trippier returned to group training on Friday for the first time since sustaining a foot fracture last February while Wilson is also edging closer to making his comeback after working hard with the club's sports science team.
To be able to call upon the £32m pair before the season is out would be a real bonus but, to truly go to the next level, Newcastle will need to sign further match-winners this summer. Then Klopp might have something else to think about.
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