Ian Doyle provides commentary at St. James’ Park following Liverpool’s matchup with Newcastle United.
The transfer decision is now clear.
Exactly 28 minutes have passed in the third game of the year. Since Liverpool’s first-choice center-back duo was missing for that long, calls for reinforcement before Friday’s transfer deadline have become louder than ever.
There has been growing concern that the Reds may be at risk of being shorthanded in a crucial position ever since Jurgen Klopp made it clear toward the end of the previous campaign that they were looking to add defensive reinforcements.
The Liverpool manager acknowledged on Friday that luck was needed with injuries as he considered Ibrahima Konate’s absence for this trip to Newcastle United.
Given that Virgil van Dijk joined his teammate on the benches here before the half-hour mark when he was removed for a foul on Alexander Isak, it appears that luck with officials may also be necessary.
Without a doubt, the defender caught the player from Newcastle. However, Van Dijk also nearly simultaneously won the ball, and in any case, there may be debate as to whether this prevented a clean chance to score. It was obviously odd that it wasn’t at the very least sent to the pitchside monitor.
However, Liverpool has recently been accustomed to playing with 10 men after playing the final 30 minutes of their match against Bournemouth last weekend with a numerical disadvantage due to Alexis Mac Allister’s later-cancelled red card.
Joe Gomez performed admirably after being thrown into the action, but it was telling that Joel Matip was removed in the dying moments to give Jarell Quansah an unexpected senior debut.
Szoboszlai demonstrating Way wrong
It was hard not to grin when Eddie Howe mentioned Liverpool beating Newcastle to the £60 million Dominik Szoboszlai signing this summer when he spoke to the media prior to this game.
The manager of a side that spent a net of £325 million over the previous four transfer windows commented, “It’s quite an expensive purchase.
But after only three games, Szoboszlai is already speculating that the Reds might be getting a deal.
The extra duty fell to the Hungary international last weekend after Jurgen Klopp’s team had a player sent off. This, however, was a much more commendable performance because Newcastle presented stiffer competition and had one of the greatest midfielders in the Premier League over the previous 12 months in Bruno Guimaraes.
Szoboszlai, who was already one of Liverpool’s better players during a turbulent first half, helped the Reds maintain possession with more assurance and set themselves up for their devastating late double blow. Only Andy Robertson, who is equally brilliant, had more touches for the guests.
In other midfield action, Alexis Mac Allister improved after a lackluster first half, while Wataru Endo’s debut start ended before the game was even halfway through.
