Newcastle United almost fell to their first defeat in four Premier League games at Anfield on Saturday, but Joe Willock came off the bench to be the hero after Mohamed Salah’s third-minute strike seemed certain to seal a 1-0 win for Liverpool.
Here are our Magpies player ratings from Merseyside…
Starting XI:
Martin Dubravka: 8/10
Kept Newcastle in the game after Salah’s magnificent early opener, doing well to thwart the Egyptian a second and to prevent Sadio Mane from firing home. The onslaught continued after the break and was not helped by Jonjo Shelvey’s strange back pass on the hour mark.
Jacob Murphy: 6/10
A moment of indecision almost let Liverpool in for a second when Salah snatched possession late in the first period. Had delivered a teasing box into Allison’s area that no one tried to meet, and saw an effort blocked early in the second half.
Federico Fernandez: 7/10
Had to be careful after receiving a yellow card after the first quarter of an hour for a tackle on Diogo Jota and was beaten in the air by Mane moments before the break, as another Reds chance went begging. His calm presence helped to prevent things from getting out of hand.
Ciaran Clark: 5/10 (off 64’ min)
Will have been frustrated to have not gotten a more substantial contact on Mane’s cross for Salah’s opener and gifted possession to the Reds inside Dubravka’s box only for Jota to scuff his shot wide. Recovered well and had the ball in the back of the net but was offside.
Paul Dummett: 6/10
Liverpool’s attacking pace occasionally proved problematic for the Welshman but made a great interception to nip the ball away from Salah as he bore down on Dubravka’s net, and frequently cleared the ball to keep pressure away as often as he could.
Matt Ritchie: 5/10
Wasted an early free-kick to try and get United back into the game with the ball sailing straight out of play, having been the player spun by Salah for the host’s first. Kept trying but not always able to find a black-and-white shirt in the box.
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Miguel Almiron: 5/10 (off 85’ min)
Not the Paraguayan playmaker’s best day for Newcastle, as his lack of focus saw a chance midway through the first half go to waste when a communication breakdown saw Almiron, Joelinton and Allan Saint-Maximin get in each other’s way.
Jonjo Shelvey: 6/10
Played a beautiful pass down the inside-left for Sean Longstaff to run through on goal and one down the right for Joelinton either side of the break but created his best chance for the wrong side with his strange back pass almost gifting Mane a goal.
Sean Longstaff: 5/10
Failed to sort his feet when freed by Shelvey resulting in Allison easily palming away the midfielder’s scurried shot, and later saw Mane intercept a dismal pass out from the back that led to Salah rippling the side netting.
Joelinton: 5/10 (off 60’ min)
Unable to be the same player that proved a nuisance against Tottenham and build on his goal against West Ham, eventually replaced by Callum Wilson on the hour mark moments after stinging Allison’s gloves with a low blast.
Allan Saint-Maximin: 7/10
Took a battering from the Liverpool players after overcoming a knock to his ankle to feature, but still caused the Reds plenty of problems and almost struck an instant reply. Dropped a shoulder to breeze past Salah and deliver a dangerous cross, was almost unplayable when given the chance to run.
Substitutes:
Callum Wilson: 6/10 (on 60’ min)
Spread play nicely following his second-half introduction and thought he had stolen a point at the start of stoppage time, only for a VAR review to spot the ball bouncing off his arm after being pushed from behind by Trent Alexander-Arnold.
Joe Willock: 7/10 (on 64’ min)
The Arsenal loanee came up clutch for the Magpies for the second week in a row, coming off the bench to score the final goal of the game in the fourth minute of stoppage-time, sealing the draw following his game-winning goal against West Ham last time out.
Dwight Gayle: N/A (on 85’ min)
Unused subs: Mark Gillespie (GK), Jamal Lewis, Emil Krafth, Javier Manquillo, Jeff Hendrick, Andy Carroll
AND in other news, Newcastle United hold keen interest in £35m titan who “flung his teammates under the bus”…