Liverpool's Premier League campaign continued on the right track with a dramatic late victory over Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Fabio Carvalho struck in the eighth minute of injury time after Roberto Firmino had equalised Alexander Isak's opener as the Reds came from behind to win 2-1. The result means Jurgen Klopp’s side are now only two points off the top four after a slow start to the season.
But there was plenty that went unnoticed or under the radar during the 90 minutes at Anfield.
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Alisson angered
From as early as the third minute, it became clear Newcastle were happy to echo the approach of an increasing number of Anfield visitors and waste as much time as possible when the ball was either out of play or in possession of goalkeeper Nick Pope.
And at the other end, Liverpool counterpart Alisson Becker had seen quite enough from his opposite number during injury time, when a combination of Pope taking an eternity to restart play and then receiving treatment for a minor knock prompted the Brazilian to flail his arms and scream in absolute frustration while angrily prowling the penalty area at the Kop end.
Mind you, it wasn't too long before Alisson was again screaming with his hands in the air. For completely different reasons, of course.
Matip gotta Matip
Entire books could be written on the immediate fall-out to Carvalho's dramatic winner, not least given how emotions had been running high in the dugout throughout a feisty encounter.
Thiago Alcantara, already super enthused by Roberto Firmino's equaliser, could barely contain himself, Darwin Nunez was almost among the supporters as he implored Newcastle where to go, while goalkeeping coach John Achterberg raced towards the opposing bench while using fingers on each hand to inform the visitors exactly how many goals Liverpool had now scored.
Nothing, though, was as bizarre as the sight of unused substitute Joel Matip on his hands and knees on the touchline while beating the turf. What a hero.
Canny Carvalho
From simultaneous injuries, conveniently forgetting to remove a drinks bottle from the pitch to a succession of cramps, Newcastle exhausted the timewasting playbook on Wednesday.
And, watching from the bench, Fabio Carvalho was certainly taking note. Having raced to the corner flag to celebrate his winner in front of the away fans, the youngster - who turned 20 the previous day - then hit the deck as if injured, thus eating up a few more precious seconds.
Liverpool subsequently took an eternity to return to their half for the restart, just as Newcastle had done after Isak's opening goal. Not sure the visitors will see it as a compliment, though.
Andreas agitated
How tetchy matters had become between the opposing sides - Adrian joining Jurgen Klopp in taking umbrage at decisions during the first half - became evident during a strange altercation during the half-time interval.
As both sets of substitutes went through their warm-ups, Newcastle kept encroaching into the Liverpool half to the point Andreas Kornmayer, the Reds' head of fitness and conditioning, told Sven Botman to get back into his own patch.
Fellow Newcastle substitutes Karl Darlow and Matt Ritchie tried to make light of the incident, but Kornmayer was having none of it. Which might go some way to explaining his mildly humorous reaction towards the Magpies bench after Liverpool's late winner.
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