Relentless in all competitions but the FA Cup this season, Liverpool continued their fantastic run towards the record-equaling English champions title with a commanding 2-0 victory over Newcastle at Anfield on Wednesday. It was the first of the two matches Reds boss Arne Slot has to watch from the stands, suspended for his outraged reaction towards referee Michael Oliver after the recent Merseyside Derby.
Dominik Szoboszlai broke the deadlock in the 11th minute, and Alexis Mac Allister sealed the triumph for the Reds in the 63rd.
Reasonable rotation
Though unable to lead his men from the dugout, Slot was obviously in charge of team selection and he made a few changes to the lineup that started the triumph over Manchester City on Sunday. He couldn’t, however, call upon injured defenders Joe Gomez and Conor Bradley.
Alisson Becker was in goal again, with the established centre-back duo of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate directly in front. Trent Alexander-Arnold was on the right defensive flank, and on the left, it was Kostas Tsimikas instead of Andy Robertson. Ryan Gravenberch and Mac Allister paired up in midfield, with Dominik Szoboszlai slightly more advanced. Luis Diaz attacked from the left, Diogo Jota (instead of Curtis Jones) through the middle, and Mohamed Salah from the right.
As for Newcastle, manager Eddie Howe had injury issues of his own. Much like City boss Pep Guardiola three days earlier, he was without the services of his first-choice striker as Alexander Isak watched on with an injured groin. Centre-backs Sven Botman and Jamaal Lascelles, as well as midfielder Joelinton, were absent too.
Nick Pope stood between the posts, with Dan Burn and Fabian Schar forming the centre-back pair, flanked by Lewis Hall on the left and Tino Livramento on the right. The middle of the park was covered by Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes, while the trio of Joe Willock, Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy supported striker Callum Wilson up front.
Match recap
Liverpool made the most of the slick conditions at Anfield, taking an early lead in the 11th minute as Szoboszlai’s low strike from a Luis Diaz cutback found its way past Nick Pope, who may feel he could have done better.
The hosts continued to push forward, but Kostas Tsimikas squandered their best chance after the opener, firing over with his weaker right foot.
Newcastle had an opportunity to capitalize on Liverpool’s missed chances, but Callum Wilson dragged a one-on-one effort wide, with the Reds’ defenders wrongly anticipating an offside flag.
Liverpool nearly doubled their advantage before the break, with Szoboszlai curling an effort just wide from inside the box.
The second half started at a slower pace, with Liverpool content to control proceedings while Newcastle remained cautious, seemingly hoping for a late chance to snatch a result.
However, those hopes were dashed just after the hour mark when Mac Allister won the ball in the middle of the park and carried it far, before passing to Salah and receiving it back from the incredible Egyptian to fire home at the Kop End.
It was Salah’s 17th Premier League assist of the season, and he now leads on the list of best creators by seven ahead of Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard, Fulham’s Antonee Robinson, and Arsenal’s Bukayo Saka. With 10 matches to spare, the fantastic winger has now equaled his personal record of 42 goal involvements in a Premier League season, set in 2017/28.
With Newcastle’s resistance broken, Liverpool pushed for a third, coming closest through substitute Cody Gakpo, but it wasn’t to be and the final whistle confirmed another assured 2-0 victory for the league leaders.
The gap widens
Having lost at home to West Ham four days before, Arsenal, widely considered Liverpool’s only rivals in the Premier League title race, dropped points again by failing to beat Nottingham Forest. Though the Gunners have a game in hand over the Merseysiders, the gap between them is now 13 points wide and even if Liverpool suffer some sort of incredibly poor run of form, there is nothing to suggest the North Londoners would be able to take advantage.
Many have said it before – the title is now truly Liverpool’s to lose, but even the most optimistic among the Arsenal (or Manchester United, or Everton) fans will admit at this point that there’s no realistic hope for that to happen. Five years after it happened last, whisper it quietly: Liverpool will be the Premier League champions and equal Manchester United’s record of 20 titles in the English top flight.
Still, there’s quite a bit of business to be done between now and the end of the season. Next up, the Reds are in for quite a ride when they travel to face the in-form Paris Saint-Germain side in the Champions League round of 16 next Wednesday. The rematch at Anfield takes place six days later, with the league game against bottom-placed Southampton scheduled in between. And after that rematch against the Ligue 1 champions, it’ll be Newcastle again, in a fight for the Carabao Cup trophy at Wembley.
Meanwhile, Newcastle have no European obligations but they do have some potentially tricky tasks ahead, taking on Brighton and Hove Albion in the fifth round of the FA Cup this weekend and traveling to London to face West Ham, before the Carabao Cup final.
Howe’s team sit sixth with 44 points at the moment and are locked in the race for places three and four, guaranteeing Champions League football next season – the Magpies are in that race against no less than six rivals and it will surely be an exciting ride for their supporters.
