Five key takeaways from Newcastle’s thrilling 2-2 stalemate with Liverpool
Newcastle United came within seconds of securing an opening-day victory over Liverpool as Alexander Isak endured a difficult return to St James’ Park while both sets of players honoured Kevin Keegan
Newcastle United were cruelly denied a debut win for their new head coach as Dominik Szoboszlai converted from the penalty spot deep into added time to earn a draw for Andoni Iraola’s team.
Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock had fired Matthias Jaissle’s side into a 2-1 advantage and looked set for a memorable victory in his first competitive match at the helm. However, Cody Gakpo had earlier pulled one back for the visitors before Szoboszlai’s spot-kick, awarded after Lewis Hall brought down Victor Munoz inside the area, saw the points shared.
Nevertheless, it was an encouraging display from Newcastle, who signalled their intent to challenge the Premier League’s elite this campaign. Here are five observations from this pulsating encounter.
Isak has tough afternoon
Isak made his first appearance at St James’ Park since his British record transfer to the Merseyside club and received a hostile welcome from the moment he emerged from the team coach, with supporters chanting: ‘Rat, rat, rat…’ near the players’ entrance.
When the team sheet was announced 45 minutes before kick-off, he was greeted with loud jeers which continued throughout the warm-up, with every wayward shot during shooting practice being met with cheers from the Leazes End.
He smiled as he walked back down the tunnel following more boos, which intensified once the match began. He was subjected to an unprintable chant and every touch he took was met with deafening noise while every successful tackle on him, including two from Lewis Hall in the opening period, was cheered mercilessly.
He offered little threat until the 70th minute when he wasted a golden opportunity, skyying a poor effort from 12 yards over the bar with his left foot. The reaction from the home crowd was predictably harsh.
Jaissle makes impact
Jaissle was introduced as the club’s new manager to a rapturous reception before kick-off and his touchline enthusiasm matched the electric atmosphere.
The Newcastle boss was living every moment, disputing every decision and needed to be reminded by the fourth official on multiple occasions to stay within his technical area.
Yet his players responded magnificently, throwing themselves into challenges, feeding off the crowd’s passion and embracing the connection he sought between the team and supporters.
He had promised attacking, direct, aggressive football and Newcastle delivered exactly that in his first game while remaining solid at the back. The home support were thoroughly impressed and on the 50-minute mark, the first rendition of ‘Matthias Jaissle’s black-and-white army’ echoed across the Strawberry Corner.
Following pre-season renditions of ‘Jaissle, I can boogie’, it is evident the German has made an encouraging start with his new supporters and there was much to admire from his opening league match as manager.
Keegan commemorations
The build-up was set for a fitting tribute to Keegan’s legacy as both clubs wore ‘Keegan 7’ on their training shirts, while representatives from each side placed flowers outside the ground.
A display then filled all four stands inside St James’ Park, with even the Liverpool section in the away end holding up placards spelling ‘Keegan’, while Newcastle supporters in the Leazes End displayed the number seven as both fanbases honoured a figure who was revered at each club.
Many of his former Entertainers squad members were present to witness the pre-match ceremony, with a mosaic featuring all of the shirts positioned outside the stadium in memory of Keegan, who passed away last month, serving as the focal point of the tribute.
A tifo was unfurled at the East Stand, with the Gallowgate End displaying a banner reading: ‘I want people to dream about their football club. They should. We should all be dreamers at heart. Some people are the opposite and say ‘we can’t do that’, but when you ask them why, they can’t give a reason. Well, I say, ‘Why not?’.
Throughout the contest ‘Walking in a Keegan Wonderland’ reverberated around the ground and he would surely have been delighted by the committed display his two former clubs served up to launch the new season.
Liverpool sequence broken
Before this fixture, Liverpool had avoided defeat in each of their previous 19 Premier League meetings with Newcastle. Victory for Newcastle would have marked their first league success against Liverpool since December 2015. Across that period, the Reds had dominated the scoring charts with 45 goals for and 19 against.
New arrivals impress
Jaissle handed competitive debuts to three summer signings with Lukas Hornicek, Amar Dedic and Sean Steur all starting.
Hornicek appeared far more composed than he had during pre-season, producing an excellent stop low to his left to turn away Gakpo’s goalbound effort.
Dedic integrated smoothly into the Newcastle lineup, justifying Jaissle’s assessment of him as a ready-made fit for his system having worked with him at RB Salzburg.
The Bosnian international’s well-timed interception initiated the move for Newcastle’s opener, picking out Will Osula who drove forward before releasing Elanga through on goal to give Newcastle the advantage. He later demonstrated his defensive resolve, outmuscling Gakpo to shepherd the ball out of play in stoppage time before celebrating in front of the Leazes End.
Steur built on his promising trajectory with another solid display, consistently seeking forward options when in possession while Aladji Bamba came on from the bench for his first appearance.
Bazoumana Toure and Ewen Jaouen remained unused on the substitutes’ bench and are poised to make their bows when Newcastle face West Brom on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup second round.