Digging Deeper into Liverpool’s 2-0 Win over Newcastle
After the Reds take an unassailable lead at the top of the table, we take a look at some of the winners and losers on the night.
They say a 2-0 win is the hallmark of champions, giving yourself enough margin to not be undone by a fluke or a mad ref, without blowing your tank on unnecessarily running up the score. On a related note, Liverpool took their eighth 2-0 win of the Premier League season tonight, easing past a Newcastle side that caused them all kinds of trouble in the reverse fixture back in fall, and capitalising as an injury-ridden and not afraid to let you know it Arsenal dropped two points against Nottingham Forest.
It takes the Reds’ league lead to 13 points — albeit having played a game more — a margin that at this point in the season has never before been overtaken, and one that looks all the more secure when considering the current trajectories of the two sides supposedly contesting for the title.
As such, while title win number 20 isn’t mathematically secured as of yet, and while the players will undoubtedly keep their focus on the next match until all the matches have been played, fans can feel comfortable in singing their songs and celebrating their heroes, and begun turning an eye toward the various cup competitions the Reds are competing to win in the coming months.
Below then, a quick discussion of some winners and losers on the night.
Winners
Big Dom: He may have collapsed onto the pitch after a goal, an assist and 52 pressing actions against Manchester City on the weekend, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at him tonight, as Dominik Szoboszlai covered every blade of grass against Newcastle, winning six out of six tackles in the process, and scoring the opening with another left-footed effort from just inside the area.
It took the 24-year old’s tally to 12 goals and assists on the year, overtaking the total from his debut season, as the Hungarian continues to establish himself as one of the most important and versatile contributors on a team that looks set to cash in at least one major title this campaign.
The former Leipzig man constituted a significant investment for the club back in the summer of 2023, when he arrived as the club’s third most expensive signing of all time, and while his contributions have been more engine room essential than superstar headline grabber, he has been nothing less than crucial to the club’s success in his short tenure in Red.
Singing Songs: We’re gonna win the league, and fans should sing about it as often as they can manage between now and the trophy lift, enjoying every single moment of the ride. Many of us waited 30 years for one of these, and now they appear to come around every couple seasons. Failing to take satisfaction in that fact would seem like a waste of a good time.
Losers
Record Books: Mo Salah may not have both scored and assisted tonight, but he did set up Alexis Mac Allister as the Argentinian swept home Liverpool’s second of the day, with tricky footwork and a nifty little outside the boot pass after drawing attention away in the packed Newcastle area.
It was Salah’s 52nd goal involvement in all competitions this season, his 17th Premier League assist, and his 42nd Premier League goal or assist, two shy of Thierry Henry’s record tally from 2002/03. With ten games to go and the Egyptian having contributed to the scoreline in seven straight matches, it feels like a matter of time — maybe just another 90 minutes — before the Frenchman’s record falls and the era of recognising Salah for the legend he is begins in earnest.
Perhaps this is why references to Alan Shearer and Andy Cole’s records — of 47 and 48 goal involvements, respectively, set in 42-game seasons more than 30 years ago and, for that reason, never ever brought up in this context — have begun popping up in the media in recent days: it feels like Salah has made his crowning moment inevitable, and the goal posts must be moved to instill some sense of peril.
No matter. He will break those records too, cementing his legacy, not just at Anfield, but at the very top of the page of the league’s history books.
What Happens Next
The Reds take the weekend off, owing to their 3rd round FA Cup defeat to Plymouth Argyle back at the start of the month, and have a full week to rest and recover before they restart their Champions League campaign, as they head to Paris to take on Luis Enrique’s young and dynamic PSG side in the competitions round of 16. Then, next Saturday, they play hosts to bottom dwellers Southampton, in what should on paper be the easiest three points remaining on offer.
Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com
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