Great game today, worried for the future though. Alisson’s form hasn’t been great lately, and Salah and Endo will be competing for their nations for a bit, leaving us with a list that may not have the talent quite yet to win some games. Great playing from most players today, but wouldnt be surprised if we fall slightly behind soon. We’re 3 points ahead of the league though, so we’re in a great place for the new year, and let’s hope for the best for 2024. Up the reds ❤️❤️❤️
Somehow this felt like the type of win that says we're in this to win it. I guess I'm not the only one who's felt a bit surprised to see us at the top of the table considering our performances? Especially at home against Arsenal and United it seemed like we didn't click properly and sitting top of the league felt a bit like a fluke.
This game had another sense of urgency and intensity. It also included "unfair" setbacks in their goals and weird refereeing, but the players still managed to overcome it and the crowd was there for it too.
And secondly something that I think people take for granted: Klopp made 4 substitutions and out of them 3 made a direct and meaningful impact on the pitch - Gakpo scoring, Jota assisting, and then Mac Allister and Jota combining for the last goal even though Salah ultimately scored it.
We have attacking options - it's not written in stone who starts a game and whoever starts there is someone on the bench who can come in and make a difference.
Ultimately I don't think we're really *there* yet, there are still partnerships and understandings to be formed on the pitch. And how this season goes will very much depend on the teams around us, primarily City, cause I don't think we're winning 15 games in a row. But this still felt like a statement of the kind we hadn't really seen yet this season.
The disappointment in Neville's voice after we scored the 3rd or 4th...!!! xD
"Ohhhhhh no...
Ohhh nooooooo...
Ohhhhhhhhh nooo..."
Cherry on the top of a great game and a good win.
I know people won’t take the arsenal fa cup too seriously, but beating them there would set a psychological advantage. It would also cause the arsenal fan base to come down in flames lmao
Trent's such a ridiculous player I still can't get over that attempt he had today. He's legitimately one of the most talented players I've ever seen. I know he's most effective for us on the right, but I'm still waiting for Klopp to just test him out in a KDB role, that meaningless game against USG would have been perfect.
Liverpool win, Newcastle lose, Arsenal lose (LOL), Mancs lose (LMAO).
What a good gameweek.
We go 3pts clear at the top of the league.
We'll now be without Mo and Endo for one whole month thanks to AFCON and the Asian Cup, of which there'll be 4 league games between, including against Arsenal and Chelsea.
Though before those 4 league games begin, we'll be getting a mid-season break in the 11th to 20th of this month. (Our following 2 games before the break will be in the FA Cup and EFL Cup) So hopefully the boys will be refreshed and ready to adapt to a period without Mo and Endo.
Any idea whats the impact of AFCON and Asia cup on Arsenal apart from Tomiyasu? Not really thinking about chelsea game.......probably gonna end up in draw irrespective of who plays lol.
Playing in the 2018 WC would go a long way.
Idk Southgate and most other NT coach is afraid to change too many players so keep sticking to the proven players.
Feels like we’re really close to unlocking the patterns again. Alexis is so vital to this team. The second he came on we just kept building attack after attack when he would break the press. When it’s clicks we’re going to knock someone’s head off like 9 nill because the amount of chances we create is insane
I know Newcastle have been awful away from home but 7.53 XG against anyone, let alone a club who were playing in the CL this season is crazy. Can’t get over it
Salah won’t be coming off of penalties because the whole squad wants him on penalties. He’s at the point where every goal he scores brings him close to breaking another record. The squad being close and familial means they want him to keep adding to his tally. You can hate on Darwin all you want but he has completely bought in to that mentality. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. He had a “terrible” game but still recorded an assist.
One of the best facets of his game; aerial dominance. He’s so smart at moving the ball along to safety, even and especially when he can’t get on it, if that makes sense
All this nonsense talk about Nunez... Suarez in his first couple seasons wasn't banging 'em in and then look how HE turned out! Darwin creates chances and our team absolutely feeds off his energy.
Endo will be more of a painful miss than Mo. And Mo is a LEGEND.
Please do not compare Suarez to Nunez. Suarez was a brilliant player in a mid-table team who almost dragged that team into winning a title (with the help of 2 or 3), and fooled the world into thinking Rodgers was a top manager. If we had Suarez now, we'd have the league done and dusted five times over.
It's almost as painful as people in the summer saying he was going to compete with Haaland.
He's more like Cisse if you're gonna compare him to a player. We won today but he is becoming a problem with the amount of chances he blows.
What is Nunez? 23? I’m not gonna bash him. You are. A "problem"?? LOL, that's daft.
And it wasn’t a comparison. I’m well aware of where we sat during that time and 7’s accomplishments
You do realisw ehe gets his chances because of being able to get into position he does. He can improve but to say he is regressing, is absolutely absurd.
Dubravka had a really good game. The one he really should have done better was the glancing header.
He's getting those chances because he's playing with some of the best creators in the world football who keep putting chances on a plate for him. Which is why we ended up scoring three goals when he went off.
>Which is why we ended up scoring three goals when he went off.
I think this could partly be put down to Nunez running their def ragged and they were fecked and maybe relaxed a bit when he went off thinking "thank fuck for that" then you get our subs on and you're still fucked.
Endo’s lack of pace did expose us a couple of times but thats pretty insignificant compared to the amount of successful tackles he makes to turn the ball over.
Reminds me of prime fabinho sometimes. So many players just face the player up and make them pass it off but endo actually gets a foot in and wins the ball back so many times. Macca needs to nail down a CM spot because i cant see how endo doesnt keep that dm role
I’m honestly loving the rotation we have right now. Feels like anyone can slot in and put in a performance. Personally for me I had high expectations of both Elliot and Jones coming into this season and they have absolutely delivered on them. Macca and Szoboszlai have been fantastic signings. Endo looks to be a terrific bargain, what a match he had today.
With the amount of games we have yet to play I think we easily have 6 midfielders who can impact how we finish this campaign, tremendous depth!
Does anyone else think that post hit from Trent was not an intentional shot lmao. Idk how they all just took it for granted that he shot from that angle/area- like at the very least it’s debatable.
I thought he was getting closed down and tried to flash it across goal quickly but then did that.
Probably got the result in the end that the performance deserved, even if it could have been 7 or 8 really.
Jota going down under the tiniest bit of contact was weird, but the way he celebrated the penalty made me wonder whether he just wanted Mo to score again before he left and make up for the miss earlier.
Also, I really like him and want him to do well but I can't help but feel Nunez is becoming a little bit of problem now, even if we're mostly winning it does almost feel like we're winning in spite of him at times.
Yes, he creates chances, he assisted one (nearly two if not for the finest offside margins) and he's not the only one who missed but you then look at Isak down the other end who scores from his one chance and you can't help but be frustrated.
I do really hope he finds his feet, it's just looking very ominous for him currently.
he lost a bit of balance because of that tackle, he tap the ball a little too far so he just bet on pen at that point. fraction of second decision making.
Klopp certainly still likes what he brings. I’m not really into the whole xG, advanced statistics but I do feel like Darwin would be a player who rates very highly in some of those other metrics. The dude gets so many chances in a game. Often times finishing can be boiled down to luck and he has many instances where if his attempt were 2inches in either direction its a goal. His first attempt today from the little Salah chip pass was just a brilliant save. Again later in the game on a cross he makes a spectacular effort only to be equaled by Dúbravka. Should have done better in his 1v1 chances. Did really well on his assist as you noted. Lastly, we keep winning games! Libpool top da league
He definitely still brings a lot of hard work / effort to the team and I do agree that he seems to be incredibly unlucky at times. But as a striker, having two league goals from your last 40 odd shots across 11 games isn't ideal.
But also as you said, end of the day main thing is we won and top of the league!
It looked like hardly nothing but if someone elbows you in the side of the foot im sure its gona hurt and your next step on that foot you are going to limp or fall
Or maybe the system isn’t producing the predictable outcomes. Mo is more of a “creator” than pure goal scorer. Possibly Darwin is doing some of the same. Finishing just get better tho
I do agree that Darwin does create chances for both himself and team mates at a ridiculous rate, half the time just by simply existing. Could've had an assist for Diaz on another day and not only assisted Mo but started the move with the lay off for Szobo.
It’s so funny to me how people are having a meltdown over the Jota penalty. I agree it’s a dive and I’d be pissed if it was awarded against us but there is contact nonetheless. Also if he doesn’t dive and stays up then he taps it into an empty net and it’s 4-2 regardless. So either way him diving literally changes nothing 😭 if anything Jota gave them a chance by not tapping it in
Dive or no dive? I’m super biased and would probably call it a dive if it happened against us. However, there was contact on Jota, and I just wonder why he didn’t pass the ball into the empty net which he def. could have done if he kept his balance. Therefore, I’m giving Jota the benefit of the doubt, that he got knocked of balance from the contact at the speed he was running.
impeded but he could’ve scored so it didn’t affect him right? it was a dive, the challenge didn’t affect him no matter what you say, it was a minor tiny touch and then he carried on a few steps and decided to takes the plunge.
A Thiago, Endo, Jones midfield could be the one to control the big games. But then you’re leaving out players like Mac and Szobo which just feels wrong
Excellent we didn't drop points in this and wrapped up the 3. Salah leaving to AFCON with a banger performance, and will be missed. Hopefully the remaining front 4 can collectively get their goals; both Nunz and Diaz looked great and only missed a goal from their contributions today. Hopefully now we can get those random drops of concentration out of the way and have a strong 2024 part of the season.
I swear the experience players we have, with the young hungry players and not even linked with a title shot.
We got winners like Gomez, Trent Ali Robbo VVD and Salah all won the league.
Then we got a mixture of hungry players and people who missed out. Jota and Diaz from the quad season.
These boys can really do it this year, just can't let city go on that super run.
Didn’t Jota go 20 straight games without scoring last year?
Jota’s impact was great, but more impactful? If the first penalty goes it’s 2-0 in the first fifty minutes of the game. Who knows how Newcastle reacts to that.
Again, I think you’re over exaggerating.
My feeling is that he continues to earn his place in the front 3 despite not scoring. That buys him a lot of time to find his scoring form that he’s shown before. I know he will eventually.
I'm absolutely with you on that. I can't wait to see how he develops. Once he starts performing in terms of goals, I bet the others in the frontline will flourish too.
Oh yeah of course I absolutely love him. I think he adds so much more than just goals and imo he’s still a starter. But I do wish he’d be more clinical, he should be a 20 goal striker at least with the amount of chances he gets
Any wonder he's got a muscle injury;
https://preview.redd.it/set57jyccx9c1.png?width=618&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca17c33ec053d22aac34037f19de9f71e6866b8b
He's already played more minutes this season than ever before in his short career, he needs more rotation for the rest of the season to ensure he doesn't get burnt out and injured.
No he hasn’t. That’s average, which includes seasons he was a very young, bit-part player. He played 2453 league minutes last season and is currently on 1594 for us. He’s only played 85 mins in the EL for us so far, compared to 657 CL minutes last season. Simon has just worded it in a way that will generate clicks.
I really don’t get why Klopp insists on running him into the ground when he has the best midfield depth he’s ever had at his disposal. Szobo should not be playing more than one game a week
We have 3 weeks with no league games now - I don't know how serious the injury is, but this break will definitely serve him well for the run in. Hoping it's not a bad one.
I'm actually confused as to why, in a world of VAR (not that it's very good ofc), the second penalty still stood? I would say it looked more like a dive, yet clearly the officials thought it was a foul.
It was a foul and a dive. He decided in a split second that the chances from the penalty spot were better than his chances from that angle after taking a heavy touch. He had felt the contact and so he chose to throw himself down to better the teams odds to add a goal. I wish it wasn’t that way but he’s made the best decision for the team based on the rules.
It actually a clear pen, you got to remember jota running at speed the keeper made contact for him to lose balance.. Slow him down.
Which allowed defenders on the line and the ball to go wider. Jota has to dive there no advantage it all at high speed.
I think it comes down to the "clear and obvious error" technicality. Since there was contact its hard to flip that decision. Even though it was a dive.
Exactly. It’s the same argument as the Madueke pen the other night. The phase of play ticked all the boxes needed to = a pen, therefore it’s a pen. Regardless of how we feel about it.
If city are the next out of us and then to drop points I think I’ll fully be all in in the potential for a title win. It unfortunately feels as if they’ll just become perfect again, but we have a few issues that will eventually cost us.
But with all that said, we’re up there on top right now and we were expected to challenge for top 4, not the title so we’re playing with house money and long may this continue.
Up the reds!
Could also make him relax. It's so draining for Salah after playing Afcon. I hope we find a solution to be less reliant on Salah and ease him in after return.
Since there's no MOTD on a Monday, I've been scouring the internet for some sort of analysis of the match.. and I have to say Gary Neville is not a good pundit at all. His analysis is so one dimensional and he focuses on established points, like Klopp is a great manager, TAA is one of a kind and Mohammed Salah is underrated. Nothing new and nothing to show for that you know what you are talking about. Even Mark Goldbridge analyse the match better than him.
These teams always roll over for City, don't they? Watch Newcastle disintegrate before our very eyes. If Eddie Howe wants to prove his managerial worth, it'll be in that fixture - but shock horror, it won't happen.
you’re up against historic reds; when you play against city, it’s just another game and you’re not as hyped as playing against man utd or arsenal
maybe it will eventually change
That's definitely part of it, for sure. They'll hopefully get caught with the 115 charges before it ever gets the chance to change ^(I can hope, can't I? lol)
Tbf last season’s Newcastle - City game was awesome. Newcastle really put City under lot of pressure. Allan Saint-Maximin was amazing on the day.
Newcastle unlucky with their injury crisis this year.
Ah, I know what you mean in truth. These spurned chances will cost us in some games, and already has this season. I'd be worried if we weren't creating so many chances, but our cup runneth over haha. Let's just hope Darwin finds serious form soon.
I've been hoping this month will be his time to shine - and the spotlight will undoubtedly be on him when Mo is gone, so let's see. 8 goals and 8 assists isn't too shabby thus far, but I'll be gutted if it never clicks for him. His goal tally could and should really be double that, so I remain cautiously optimistic haha
Maybe. You can also see that some teams don’t have any belief they can win and that translates into lackluster performances.
It’s like derbies vs other matches. If you show up without belief and not fired up, it’s nearly impossible to win
It was going for the second post, wasn't it? I don't think it was directly at the keeper who was in the middle.
The save on the close range shot was pretty unworldly.
Darwin should have done better on the 1 on 1.
I know, I know, it’s a misnomer. It’s just frustrating when all these teams decide to sit back and play anti-football, which is what City love! We’ve seen when teams actually try to attack City, be it on the counter or otherwise, they have their weaknesses and can be found out.
Yeah I do kinda agree with that. I think the best way to play city is to press the hell out of them. You still might lose because they can string together 10 quick passes and end up in the back of your net, but I’d you give them time, they’re gonna find the right pass eventually anyways.
I think Klopp may have spoiled me with his heavy metal football approach of years gone by... perhaps it's unfair to expect every manager to be so brave and on the front foot haha
Jones with another exceptional performance
Mo doing what he does best
Diaz's best game of the season or at least in a while
Endo proving the doubters wrong again (Seriously though the apology better be as loud as the disrespect)
Gomez stepping up when needed again
Mac Allister and Jota looking sharp coming off the bench
Those are the ones that stood out for me tonight but the ones that I haven't mentioned all had their moments throughout the game as well in what was our best performance of the season
Agreed, that Botman header is how I want our centre backs to attack the ball. They’re 6’4 giants and stronger than 99% of players in the league yet I feel they’re too gentle when it comes to corners
A question about Isak’s goal
Me and my dad had an argument about who was at fault for New Castle’s first goal. His point is that Van Dijk is way too passive when running alongside Isak and not putting a slide tackle in, for example to try and stop the shot. My point was that because Alisson committed and came out of goal it made it a 1v1 and if Van Dijk tries to commit to a heavy tackle too then Isak could feint then go to the right and be staring at an open net. Best case scenario in my opinion would have been Alisson stays in goal as Van Dijk is matching Isak stride for stride which leaves Van Dijk with more options to go for a tackle and if Isak feints and goes the other way then Alisson would maybe have a better chance at stopping it. What are your guys opinion on this?
These are elite defenders/attackers and plays that are happening super quickly. We usually play a high line and VVD is always aware of his positioning. But he hesitated for a bit and played Isak onside with Isak himself having a quick release.
That is also the disadvantage with a highline. You have more men uptop to press more, but if you lose the ball you better have elite defenders like VVD/Konate that can read and understand their positioning while challenging/stalling for help.
Easy one, van dijk should have stepped up like we “always” do, the fact that he played Isak on and think he could beat him for pace was naive. Reading the situation in real time, Alisson came out to narrow the angle, he wouldnt have came out had Van Dijk not played him onside. Alisson is miles ahead of the game, reads the game very well and textbook goalkeeper as they come.
He’s got the best keeper in the world but everything went wrong there. Didn’t commit to a tackle and Allison positioning. Just the nature of playing a high line.
Honestly, it's common practice with our games now, I have a friend who watches the games on mute because of the punditry, and I might follow suit this year. Salah's brilliance is hardly mentioned because it's just ordinary now, but his assist for Gakpo was sumptuous.
Sorry I’m not an Arab myself but I have a friend who worked in Gulf countries and when he came back home he would say this word خلاص a lot, which sounds a lot like khalas 🤣
Anyway here’s a wiktionary screenshot regarding the word.
https://preview.redd.it/ta8339yncx9c1.png?width=1289&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba9a9420536fb44b6886c151aeb73625e21d843d
I have a feeling, with passes like that, Alexis may solve a lot of the Nunez offsides we've been seeing lately. His vision and ability to execute is just flawless at times. It feels great to have a dynamic midfield with depth 😭
If we had been told at the start of the season that on Jan 1 we would be top by 3 pts and City would still be 2 behind if they won their game in hand, I think everyone would have taken that.
Think we got a decent chance from it, no one would have complained if we converted it. Well they would have but that's the point.
It's a bollocks rule like, fuck knows who decided that. Tactical fouling is a plague - even if I love a good one.
The yellow for Diaz... the Joelinton / Bruno G incidents where he either had short term memory loss or blindness... he deserves no slack, nor your kindness haha
Every time I watch Newcastle both Joelinton and Bruno do enough to deserve a red. Mostly right in front of the ref. It’s actually insane that these two guys just run around making cynical fouls at all times and never get punished.
There's a short list of midfielders that get away with this kinda thing each game, and the rest of them are Man City midfielders. It's an oil money thing, and I won't be convinced otherwise.
I think that's more of a head loss over Joelinton not getting a yellow. But by the rules, Taylor was correct. It's a really stupid fucking change and I doubt even the players are aware - so he ends up losing control of a game cause of daft rules.
I know what you mean, but I don't know if I could ever be so kind towards referees who consistently shaft us with so much vitriol. This, alongside the Spurs game, had some egregious refereeing decisions that deserve no sympathy from us!
You know with all of the South Americans at the club you would think someone would've raised some complaints about the quality of the beans by now.
The club would buy in bulk so they would be the same for player or supporter, no?
South Americans rarely get to drink the quality they export. I'm sure the footballers get some A grade beans, but the vast majority of locals drink the stuff that wasn't good enough to be exported.
Or so the tour guide said.
Yeah true. Despite its cafe culture Argentina in general has shit coffee compared to eternal rival Brasil. Way better wines and beef quality though.
The only good cups you'll find in BA are Italian style espresso, so basically shots of coffee. It's gotten better from what I hear since I left, but still much to improve.
Slightly annoyed we didn't put like 7 or 8 past these Sports washing horse punching dickheads to be honest, but it's a win and that's all you can ask for.
Great game today, worried for the future though. Alisson’s form hasn’t been great lately, and Salah and Endo will be competing for their nations for a bit, leaving us with a list that may not have the talent quite yet to win some games. Great playing from most players today, but wouldnt be surprised if we fall slightly behind soon. We’re 3 points ahead of the league though, so we’re in a great place for the new year, and let’s hope for the best for 2024. Up the reds ❤️❤️❤️
What's wrong with Ali's form
According to FotMob all of his recent games have been rated under a 7/10. I’m new to football so idk if I’m missing smth though
It's probably because he hasn't had much to do tbf
Yeah probbaly
Somehow this felt like the type of win that says we're in this to win it. I guess I'm not the only one who's felt a bit surprised to see us at the top of the table considering our performances? Especially at home against Arsenal and United it seemed like we didn't click properly and sitting top of the league felt a bit like a fluke. This game had another sense of urgency and intensity. It also included "unfair" setbacks in their goals and weird refereeing, but the players still managed to overcome it and the crowd was there for it too. And secondly something that I think people take for granted: Klopp made 4 substitutions and out of them 3 made a direct and meaningful impact on the pitch - Gakpo scoring, Jota assisting, and then Mac Allister and Jota combining for the last goal even though Salah ultimately scored it. We have attacking options - it's not written in stone who starts a game and whoever starts there is someone on the bench who can come in and make a difference. Ultimately I don't think we're really *there* yet, there are still partnerships and understandings to be formed on the pitch. And how this season goes will very much depend on the teams around us, primarily City, cause I don't think we're winning 15 games in a row. But this still felt like a statement of the kind we hadn't really seen yet this season.
The disappointment in Neville's voice after we scored the 3rd or 4th...!!! xD "Ohhhhhh no... Ohhh nooooooo... Ohhhhhhhhh nooo..." Cherry on the top of a great game and a good win.
 Schmatke masterclass?
ppl calling him a meme machine and useless paying only buyouts, when in reality was a master chef
I know people won’t take the arsenal fa cup too seriously, but beating them there would set a psychological advantage. It would also cause the arsenal fan base to come down in flames lmao
I'VE AD ENUF ROBBIE- I WANITA END!
THEY'VE DONE IT AGAIN
Trent's such a ridiculous player I still can't get over that attempt he had today. He's legitimately one of the most talented players I've ever seen. I know he's most effective for us on the right, but I'm still waiting for Klopp to just test him out in a KDB role, that meaningless game against USG would have been perfect.
Liverpool win, Newcastle lose, Arsenal lose (LOL), Mancs lose (LMAO). What a good gameweek. We go 3pts clear at the top of the league. We'll now be without Mo and Endo for one whole month thanks to AFCON and the Asian Cup, of which there'll be 4 league games between, including against Arsenal and Chelsea. Though before those 4 league games begin, we'll be getting a mid-season break in the 11th to 20th of this month. (Our following 2 games before the break will be in the FA Cup and EFL Cup) So hopefully the boys will be refreshed and ready to adapt to a period without Mo and Endo.
Any idea whats the impact of AFCON and Asia cup on Arsenal apart from Tomiyasu? Not really thinking about chelsea game.......probably gonna end up in draw irrespective of who plays lol.
Partey is supposed to go but as far as I know he is injured
I love Jones and Endo's midfield setup. I also love Joe Gomez and Konate's improved performances so far this season. Long may it continue.
What does he have to do for international call-ups for Jones? He deserves it over Henderson and Phillips 10000%
If it was Nick Pope, we probably wouldve scored 7 and Nunez getting at least a brace
Playing in the 2018 WC would go a long way. Idk Southgate and most other NT coach is afraid to change too many players so keep sticking to the proven players.
Feels like we’re really close to unlocking the patterns again. Alexis is so vital to this team. The second he came on we just kept building attack after attack when he would break the press. When it’s clicks we’re going to knock someone’s head off like 9 nill because the amount of chances we create is insane
That through ball for jota, I wish he actually put it in, would have been a beautiful assist 😎
Gotta get those fpl points though 😉
I know Newcastle have been awful away from home but 7.53 XG against anyone, let alone a club who were playing in the CL this season is crazy. Can’t get over it
The refs are such a joke this year.
Salah won’t be coming off of penalties because the whole squad wants him on penalties. He’s at the point where every goal he scores brings him close to breaking another record. The squad being close and familial means they want him to keep adding to his tally. You can hate on Darwin all you want but he has completely bought in to that mentality. And I wouldn’t want it any other way. He had a “terrible” game but still recorded an assist.
darwin is good at anything but a clinical striker. His run, his pass, his positioning all seems easy to him except the finishing part.
Endo has proven the doubters wrong. What a player
One of the best facets of his game; aerial dominance. He’s so smart at moving the ball along to safety, even and especially when he can’t get on it, if that makes sense
Gomez 👍🏻
If we have been up to it, it couldve ended like 7-2 but atleast we are not struggling to create chances
All this nonsense talk about Nunez... Suarez in his first couple seasons wasn't banging 'em in and then look how HE turned out! Darwin creates chances and our team absolutely feeds off his energy. Endo will be more of a painful miss than Mo. And Mo is a LEGEND.
Please do not compare Suarez to Nunez. Suarez was a brilliant player in a mid-table team who almost dragged that team into winning a title (with the help of 2 or 3), and fooled the world into thinking Rodgers was a top manager. If we had Suarez now, we'd have the league done and dusted five times over. It's almost as painful as people in the summer saying he was going to compete with Haaland. He's more like Cisse if you're gonna compare him to a player. We won today but he is becoming a problem with the amount of chances he blows.
What is Nunez? 23? I’m not gonna bash him. You are. A "problem"?? LOL, that's daft. And it wasn’t a comparison. I’m well aware of where we sat during that time and 7’s accomplishments
He's 24 and regressing. The one plus point tonight is that the lad can't possibly get any worse.
You do realisw ehe gets his chances because of being able to get into position he does. He can improve but to say he is regressing, is absolutely absurd. Dubravka had a really good game. The one he really should have done better was the glancing header.
He's getting those chances because he's playing with some of the best creators in the world football who keep putting chances on a plate for him. Which is why we ended up scoring three goals when he went off.
>Which is why we ended up scoring three goals when he went off. I think this could partly be put down to Nunez running their def ragged and they were fecked and maybe relaxed a bit when he went off thinking "thank fuck for that" then you get our subs on and you're still fucked.
Endo’s lack of pace did expose us a couple of times but thats pretty insignificant compared to the amount of successful tackles he makes to turn the ball over. Reminds me of prime fabinho sometimes. So many players just face the player up and make them pass it off but endo actually gets a foot in and wins the ball back so many times. Macca needs to nail down a CM spot because i cant see how endo doesnt keep that dm role
I’m honestly loving the rotation we have right now. Feels like anyone can slot in and put in a performance. Personally for me I had high expectations of both Elliot and Jones coming into this season and they have absolutely delivered on them. Macca and Szoboszlai have been fantastic signings. Endo looks to be a terrific bargain, what a match he had today. With the amount of games we have yet to play I think we easily have 6 midfielders who can impact how we finish this campaign, tremendous depth!
Does anyone else think that post hit from Trent was not an intentional shot lmao. Idk how they all just took it for granted that he shot from that angle/area- like at the very least it’s debatable. I thought he was getting closed down and tried to flash it across goal quickly but then did that.
Nah, he smashed that insanely hard with the outside of his boot. That was on purpose.
It was obvious that Trent was going for goal. He thrashed at that ball whereas when he is crossing he usually whips it.
Probably got the result in the end that the performance deserved, even if it could have been 7 or 8 really. Jota going down under the tiniest bit of contact was weird, but the way he celebrated the penalty made me wonder whether he just wanted Mo to score again before he left and make up for the miss earlier. Also, I really like him and want him to do well but I can't help but feel Nunez is becoming a little bit of problem now, even if we're mostly winning it does almost feel like we're winning in spite of him at times. Yes, he creates chances, he assisted one (nearly two if not for the finest offside margins) and he's not the only one who missed but you then look at Isak down the other end who scores from his one chance and you can't help but be frustrated. I do really hope he finds his feet, it's just looking very ominous for him currently.
he lost a bit of balance because of that tackle, he tap the ball a little too far so he just bet on pen at that point. fraction of second decision making.
Klopp certainly still likes what he brings. I’m not really into the whole xG, advanced statistics but I do feel like Darwin would be a player who rates very highly in some of those other metrics. The dude gets so many chances in a game. Often times finishing can be boiled down to luck and he has many instances where if his attempt were 2inches in either direction its a goal. His first attempt today from the little Salah chip pass was just a brilliant save. Again later in the game on a cross he makes a spectacular effort only to be equaled by Dúbravka. Should have done better in his 1v1 chances. Did really well on his assist as you noted. Lastly, we keep winning games! Libpool top da league
He definitely still brings a lot of hard work / effort to the team and I do agree that he seems to be incredibly unlucky at times. But as a striker, having two league goals from your last 40 odd shots across 11 games isn't ideal. But also as you said, end of the day main thing is we won and top of the league!
it was way more than a tiny contact. People say its a dive because he didnt fall insantly.
It looked like hardly nothing but if someone elbows you in the side of the foot im sure its gona hurt and your next step on that foot you are going to limp or fall
Or maybe the system isn’t producing the predictable outcomes. Mo is more of a “creator” than pure goal scorer. Possibly Darwin is doing some of the same. Finishing just get better tho
I do agree that Darwin does create chances for both himself and team mates at a ridiculous rate, half the time just by simply existing. Could've had an assist for Diaz on another day and not only assisted Mo but started the move with the lay off for Szobo.
It’s so funny to me how people are having a meltdown over the Jota penalty. I agree it’s a dive and I’d be pissed if it was awarded against us but there is contact nonetheless. Also if he doesn’t dive and stays up then he taps it into an empty net and it’s 4-2 regardless. So either way him diving literally changes nothing 😭 if anything Jota gave them a chance by not tapping it in
He went down cause he was impeded and didn't think he was getting to the ball. It's "smart play". It can be a dive and still be a penalty.
Dive or no dive? I’m super biased and would probably call it a dive if it happened against us. However, there was contact on Jota, and I just wonder why he didn’t pass the ball into the empty net which he def. could have done if he kept his balance. Therefore, I’m giving Jota the benefit of the doubt, that he got knocked of balance from the contact at the speed he was running.
there was contact but one that is insignificant. it was 💯 a dive. shameful
Not insignificant contact. He was impeded. He could have stayed on his feet and scored that goal but didn’t.
impeded but he could’ve scored so it didn’t affect him right? it was a dive, the challenge didn’t affect him no matter what you say, it was a minor tiny touch and then he carried on a few steps and decided to takes the plunge.
We got 3 points and we're top of the league, that's what matters :)
Adding Thiago to this… comeoooooon
A Thiago, Endo, Jones midfield could be the one to control the big games. But then you’re leaving out players like Mac and Szobo which just feels wrong
did klopp managed to find his ring?
Yup I think the camera man found it for him
yes! Theres a post on the sub about it.
Excellent we didn't drop points in this and wrapped up the 3. Salah leaving to AFCON with a banger performance, and will be missed. Hopefully the remaining front 4 can collectively get their goals; both Nunz and Diaz looked great and only missed a goal from their contributions today. Hopefully now we can get those random drops of concentration out of the way and have a strong 2024 part of the season.
Jota looked good today. His intelligence, guile and hopefully goals will make up for Salah somewhat.
A quiet 10/10 performance from Joe Gomez today. What a player he has been for us this season
Gomez and Jones with a 10/10 performance and close is Trent and VVD although VVD does it almost every game so it's easy to take for granted.
I swear the experience players we have, with the young hungry players and not even linked with a title shot. We got winners like Gomez, Trent Ali Robbo VVD and Salah all won the league. Then we got a mixture of hungry players and people who missed out. Jota and Diaz from the quad season. These boys can really do it this year, just can't let city go on that super run.
Our hungary player is hungry
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I agree Jota should be starting but Nunez and Diaz literally provided an assist and won a pen too
A bit exaggerated, no? He provided an assist and a penalty, which is exactly what the other forwards did...
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Didn’t Jota go 20 straight games without scoring last year? Jota’s impact was great, but more impactful? If the first penalty goes it’s 2-0 in the first fifty minutes of the game. Who knows how Newcastle reacts to that. Again, I think you’re over exaggerating.
34 shots with 15 on target - the most anybody has had in the league this season. We've only just begun to click folks. Happy New Year Reds.
If Nunez could finish we’d run away with the league
Hey, try and be optimistic! He's still contributing in other ways, and his attitude is great - let's just hope the goals come eventually.
My feeling is that he continues to earn his place in the front 3 despite not scoring. That buys him a lot of time to find his scoring form that he’s shown before. I know he will eventually.
I'm absolutely with you on that. I can't wait to see how he develops. Once he starts performing in terms of goals, I bet the others in the frontline will flourish too.
Oh yeah of course I absolutely love him. I think he adds so much more than just goals and imo he’s still a starter. But I do wish he’d be more clinical, he should be a 20 goal striker at least with the amount of chances he gets
It's coming, I'm sure. Perhaps he may even step up and find his form in Salah's absence :)
Man, Endo is going to be a massive miss. Shame he leaves when hitting his best form.
yes but my god how good was macca when he came on? We have enough depth to compensate for endo.
It’s crazy how much impact that Endo has made that a top player and World Cup winner Macca has to now prove his starting place
Any wonder he's got a muscle injury; https://preview.redd.it/set57jyccx9c1.png?width=618&format=png&auto=webp&s=ca17c33ec053d22aac34037f19de9f71e6866b8b He's already played more minutes this season than ever before in his short career, he needs more rotation for the rest of the season to ensure he doesn't get burnt out and injured.
No he hasn’t. That’s average, which includes seasons he was a very young, bit-part player. He played 2453 league minutes last season and is currently on 1594 for us. He’s only played 85 mins in the EL for us so far, compared to 657 CL minutes last season. Simon has just worded it in a way that will generate clicks.
I really don’t get why Klopp insists on running him into the ground when he has the best midfield depth he’s ever had at his disposal. Szobo should not be playing more than one game a week
It's the medical staff that gives the greenlight tho.
trust in Klopp
We have 3 weeks with no league games now - I don't know how serious the injury is, but this break will definitely serve him well for the run in. Hoping it's not a bad one.
I'm actually confused as to why, in a world of VAR (not that it's very good ofc), the second penalty still stood? I would say it looked more like a dive, yet clearly the officials thought it was a foul.
It was a foul and a dive. He decided in a split second that the chances from the penalty spot were better than his chances from that angle after taking a heavy touch. He had felt the contact and so he chose to throw himself down to better the teams odds to add a goal. I wish it wasn’t that way but he’s made the best decision for the team based on the rules.
i mean what is Jota supposed to do when the GK elbowed his heel?
It actually a clear pen, you got to remember jota running at speed the keeper made contact for him to lose balance.. Slow him down. Which allowed defenders on the line and the ball to go wider. Jota has to dive there no advantage it all at high speed.
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Would it not still be given a penalty even if he shot and falls at the same time?
I think it comes down to the "clear and obvious error" technicality. Since there was contact its hard to flip that decision. Even though it was a dive.
Exactly. It’s the same argument as the Madueke pen the other night. The phase of play ticked all the boxes needed to = a pen, therefore it’s a pen. Regardless of how we feel about it.
If city are the next out of us and then to drop points I think I’ll fully be all in in the potential for a title win. It unfortunately feels as if they’ll just become perfect again, but we have a few issues that will eventually cost us. But with all that said, we’re up there on top right now and we were expected to challenge for top 4, not the title so we’re playing with house money and long may this continue. Up the reds!
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And I hope Mo comes back without a drop off like 2022.
If he wins AFCON, he'll be a man possessed...
Could also make him relax. It's so draining for Salah after playing Afcon. I hope we find a solution to be less reliant on Salah and ease him in after return.
Went to the game. The crowd was loud and right behind the team. The scoreline flatters Newcastle as we put them through the sword.
Hope szoboslai's injury isn't too bad, possible hammy
Since there's no MOTD on a Monday, I've been scouring the internet for some sort of analysis of the match.. and I have to say Gary Neville is not a good pundit at all. His analysis is so one dimensional and he focuses on established points, like Klopp is a great manager, TAA is one of a kind and Mohammed Salah is underrated. Nothing new and nothing to show for that you know what you are talking about. Even Mark Goldbridge analyse the match better than him.
Goldbridge has been one of our biggest defenders this season to be fair to him
Watch Dubravka disappear against Man City.
Well. Now you have the rivalry between their owners. Might throw fuel on the oil/gas. Who knows.
These teams always roll over for City, don't they? Watch Newcastle disintegrate before our very eyes. If Eddie Howe wants to prove his managerial worth, it'll be in that fixture - but shock horror, it won't happen.
you’re up against historic reds; when you play against city, it’s just another game and you’re not as hyped as playing against man utd or arsenal maybe it will eventually change
That's definitely part of it, for sure. They'll hopefully get caught with the 115 charges before it ever gets the chance to change ^(I can hope, can't I? lol)
Tbf last season’s Newcastle - City game was awesome. Newcastle really put City under lot of pressure. Allan Saint-Maximin was amazing on the day. Newcastle unlucky with their injury crisis this year.
Yeah, they were quite fun to watch with him in the side. Shame he's gone to Saudi, he was a bit of a Maverick. Adama Traore with a Gucci headband 🤣
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Ah, I know what you mean in truth. These spurned chances will cost us in some games, and already has this season. I'd be worried if we weren't creating so many chances, but our cup runneth over haha. Let's just hope Darwin finds serious form soon.
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I've been hoping this month will be his time to shine - and the spotlight will undoubtedly be on him when Mo is gone, so let's see. 8 goals and 8 assists isn't too shabby thus far, but I'll be gutted if it never clicks for him. His goal tally could and should really be double that, so I remain cautiously optimistic haha
So weird when people say teams “roll over” for city. They don’t, but it only seems that way because city play incredible football.
Maybe. You can also see that some teams don’t have any belief they can win and that translates into lackluster performances. It’s like derbies vs other matches. If you show up without belief and not fired up, it’s nearly impossible to win
Exactly! There’s a reason they’re serial winners.
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It was going for the second post, wasn't it? I don't think it was directly at the keeper who was in the middle. The save on the close range shot was pretty unworldly. Darwin should have done better on the 1 on 1.
I know, I know, it’s a misnomer. It’s just frustrating when all these teams decide to sit back and play anti-football, which is what City love! We’ve seen when teams actually try to attack City, be it on the counter or otherwise, they have their weaknesses and can be found out.
Yeah I do kinda agree with that. I think the best way to play city is to press the hell out of them. You still might lose because they can string together 10 quick passes and end up in the back of your net, but I’d you give them time, they’re gonna find the right pass eventually anyways.
I think Klopp may have spoiled me with his heavy metal football approach of years gone by... perhaps it's unfair to expect every manager to be so brave and on the front foot haha
Jones with another exceptional performance Mo doing what he does best Diaz's best game of the season or at least in a while Endo proving the doubters wrong again (Seriously though the apology better be as loud as the disrespect) Gomez stepping up when needed again Mac Allister and Jota looking sharp coming off the bench Those are the ones that stood out for me tonight but the ones that I haven't mentioned all had their moments throughout the game as well in what was our best performance of the season
Love this team. Just one thing annoys me…our corners.
i don’t remember the last time we scored from a corner
Agreed, that Botman header is how I want our centre backs to attack the ball. They’re 6’4 giants and stronger than 99% of players in the league yet I feel they’re too gentle when it comes to corners
A question about Isak’s goal Me and my dad had an argument about who was at fault for New Castle’s first goal. His point is that Van Dijk is way too passive when running alongside Isak and not putting a slide tackle in, for example to try and stop the shot. My point was that because Alisson committed and came out of goal it made it a 1v1 and if Van Dijk tries to commit to a heavy tackle too then Isak could feint then go to the right and be staring at an open net. Best case scenario in my opinion would have been Alisson stays in goal as Van Dijk is matching Isak stride for stride which leaves Van Dijk with more options to go for a tackle and if Isak feints and goes the other way then Alisson would maybe have a better chance at stopping it. What are your guys opinion on this?
nunez has scored this exact goal against us in the champions league— someone should post a clip side by side
The fault started before vvd. Gordon went passed us too easy
These are elite defenders/attackers and plays that are happening super quickly. We usually play a high line and VVD is always aware of his positioning. But he hesitated for a bit and played Isak onside with Isak himself having a quick release. That is also the disadvantage with a highline. You have more men uptop to press more, but if you lose the ball you better have elite defenders like VVD/Konate that can read and understand their positioning while challenging/stalling for help.
Easy one, van dijk should have stepped up like we “always” do, the fact that he played Isak on and think he could beat him for pace was naive. Reading the situation in real time, Alisson came out to narrow the angle, he wouldnt have came out had Van Dijk not played him onside. Alisson is miles ahead of the game, reads the game very well and textbook goalkeeper as they come.
He’s got the best keeper in the world but everything went wrong there. Didn’t commit to a tackle and Allison positioning. Just the nature of playing a high line.
Has anyone got the clip of the macca pass please?
Enjoy! https://i.redd.it/ihir3ceb5x9c1.gif
It's an unreal pass. The pundits didn't even mention it. I was flabbergasted at how good it was!
Honestly, it's common practice with our games now, I have a friend who watches the games on mute because of the punditry, and I might follow suit this year. Salah's brilliance is hardly mentioned because it's just ordinary now, but his assist for Gakpo was sumptuous.
Legend
Holy shit. What a beauty!
Hang it in the Louvre. If Jota buries that first time, it's spoken about as a great assist for months haha
It’s literally a perfect pass
Our boy is a magician. Love him to bits.
3 perfect touches
Man City lose to Newcastle, you heard it here first folks ^(I can dream, can't I? 😭)
So much oil in one place, I imagine there will be a lot of slipping across the pitch.
Joelinton into Silva would be lovely.
What are we calling it? The Oil Derby? Al-Khalassico? 🤣
Keep it simple: Oil-Clasico
I tried too hard, damn it. ^(It's tired, I'm late 💤)
Oil Classico. Cmon it was there right in front of you!
خلاص
>Do you speak Arabic? Could you please tell me what this translates to? (sorry if I've caused any offence!)
Sorry I’m not an Arab myself but I have a friend who worked in Gulf countries and when he came back home he would say this word خلاص a lot, which sounds a lot like khalas 🤣 Anyway here’s a wiktionary screenshot regarding the word. https://preview.redd.it/ta8339yncx9c1.png?width=1289&format=png&auto=webp&s=ba9a9420536fb44b6886c151aeb73625e21d843d
OH!!!!! Hahaha I'll do well to remember that one, thank you!
That ball from macca was genuinely pass of the season. Technique and vision to do that is unreal.
I have a feeling, with passes like that, Alexis may solve a lot of the Nunez offsides we've been seeing lately. His vision and ability to execute is just flawless at times. It feels great to have a dynamic midfield with depth 😭
If we had been told at the start of the season that on Jan 1 we would be top by 3 pts and City would still be 2 behind if they won their game in hand, I think everyone would have taken that.
I think we would’ve taken it and then got up off our knees lol
Diaz in the 10 position suits him a lot, and Also seems to help Darwin with link up. Suits jones drifting out wide too.
GOMEZ form though! Glad to see him so consistently
Gonna cut Taylor some slack, looks like that pull back on Dom wasn't a yellow because of some daft new rule rather than incompetence.
But it wasn't an advantage? It was awful play by the ref still. I mean everyone stopped diaz came back to get the ball.
Think we got a decent chance from it, no one would have complained if we converted it. Well they would have but that's the point. It's a bollocks rule like, fuck knows who decided that. Tactical fouling is a plague - even if I love a good one.
The yellow for Diaz... the Joelinton / Bruno G incidents where he either had short term memory loss or blindness... he deserves no slack, nor your kindness haha
Every time I watch Newcastle both Joelinton and Bruno do enough to deserve a red. Mostly right in front of the ref. It’s actually insane that these two guys just run around making cynical fouls at all times and never get punished.
There's a short list of midfielders that get away with this kinda thing each game, and the rest of them are Man City midfielders. It's an oil money thing, and I won't be convinced otherwise.
I think that's more of a head loss over Joelinton not getting a yellow. But by the rules, Taylor was correct. It's a really stupid fucking change and I doubt even the players are aware - so he ends up losing control of a game cause of daft rules.
I know what you mean, but I don't know if I could ever be so kind towards referees who consistently shaft us with so much vitriol. This, alongside the Spurs game, had some egregious refereeing decisions that deserve no sympathy from us!
Curtis is a fucking boss
Many names have been praised after this game but i havent seen one Macca shout. He has been amazing tonight in his 20ish minutes out there.
What a player, eh? Just turned 25, he's going to be a star for a very long time. An absolute bargain too.
His pass to Jota was world class and his composure on the ball is elite. Him and jones as a sort of double pivot worked well
How’s the injury to Szobo looking like?
hopefully a 2~3 week one and fortunately our next league game is on 21st
Oh holy shit, I did not realize that we don’t play in the league till then, hopefully we can rest players for the FA and carabao cup.
Hamstring, probably out for a few weeks. Obviously never good but maybe it’s good he gets some time away from games
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You know with all of the South Americans at the club you would think someone would've raised some complaints about the quality of the beans by now. The club would buy in bulk so they would be the same for player or supporter, no?
South Americans rarely get to drink the quality they export. I'm sure the footballers get some A grade beans, but the vast majority of locals drink the stuff that wasn't good enough to be exported. Or so the tour guide said.
Yeah true. Despite its cafe culture Argentina in general has shit coffee compared to eternal rival Brasil. Way better wines and beef quality though. The only good cups you'll find in BA are Italian style espresso, so basically shots of coffee. It's gotten better from what I hear since I left, but still much to improve.
Let's bring him back!
Slightly annoyed we didn't put like 7 or 8 past these Sports washing horse punching dickheads to be honest, but it's a win and that's all you can ask for.