LESSONS learned from Newcastle United v Liverpool

Be it 4-3 classics or 6-0 slaughters, Newcastle United and Liverpool encounters often guarantee a goal glut and Saturday’s lunchtime fixture was no exception as the two sides played out a 2-2 draw.
The home side took the lead midway through the first half thanks to Yohan Cabaye’s 25-yard effort, though they conceded an equalizer – and a man – when Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa brought down Luis Suarez for a penalty converted by Steven Gerrard.
Substitute Paul Dummett surprisingly put Newcastle back in front when he got on the end of a Cabaye free-kick, but they were unable to hang on as Daniel Sturridge headed to salvage a point.
For Newcastle it was a solid follow-up to the win over Cardiff City before the international break and Alan Pardew will be hoping for more consistent displays.
As far as the Reds were concerned they reclaimed top spot in the Premier League for a couple of hours, but the result will raise doubts about their ability to sustain a challenge for Champions League football.
The following lessons we learned from the match:

# Liverpool punished for defensive lapses

Three clean sheets at the beginning of 2013-14 suggested Liverpool were going to manage without the retiring Jamie Carragher better than expected.
But, on this evidence, Brendan Rodgers should consider asking Carragher to take himself out of the Sky Sports studio and give the centre-backs at Melwood a few tips – in particular closing down the opposition.
Yohan Cabaye’s long range strike to open the deadlock was impressive, though given he had scored seven of his 11 Premier League goals from outside the box it was no surprise that the Frenchman would try his luck from distance.
Yet the Reds response to Cabaye picking the ball up on the half-way line was to back off and invite the one-time Arsenal transfer target to shoot.
Not much better was the defending for Newcastle’s second as Cabaye’s free-kick was flicked on by Kolo Toure and into the path of Paul Dummett, who ghosted round the back and finished with a superb side-foot.

# Frustrating afternoon for the SAS

The Liverpool strike partnership of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge combined superbly to get the Reds out of jail in this match.
But otherwise it was a trickier afternoon than expected for the two talented strikers, who have already set themselves a high standard with their early season combination.
Just before Victor Moses fired over the bar on 55 minutes, there was a misunderstanding between the pair as Suarez’s pass went behind the feet of Sturridge.
When they did combine well to capitalise on a misplaced Cheik Tiote pass prior to the first equalizer, Suarez was frustrated by Tim Krul, who also made a good save from the Uruguay striker’s free-kick deep into stoppage time.
However, it is still early days for this duo and, by playing three at the back, Brendan Rodgers should have a system which gets the best of them – especially once Philippe Coutinho returns from injury.

# Newcastle rewarded for strong start

There were protests planned before the match against Mike Ashley’s running of the club – via the Daily Mail – but perhaps the Toon Army should have been complaining about Alan Pardew’s efforts in the first 45 minutes of matches.
Recent Newcastle displays have been characterised by sloppy starts to matches, notably the 3-2 defeat at Everton where Pardew’s side found themselves three down inside the first 37 minutes.
Although the visitors had most of the possession early on, the home team began positively for once with a few early chances before Cabaye’s goal and forcing the ball back towards Simon Mignolet, who is a decent shot-stopper but not such a good distributor.
Encouraged by Liverpool’s inability to close down, the Magpies pressure continued to trouble the Reds keeper with further long range strikes from both Cabaye and Moussa Sissoko.
It’s hard to imagine the St. James’ Park club troubling the European places but, with some more consistency, they shouldn’t be dragged into any relegation difficulties.

# Reds captain remains pivotal

Despite the emergence of Suarez, Sturridge and Coutinho in recent times, Steven Gerrard remains the main talisman for Liverpool.
Showing few ill-effects from the demanding international break, the England captain’s conversion from the Reds first-half penalty was his 100^th Premier League goal for the Anfield club.
The 33-year-old also had over 100 touches of the ball and a pass completion rate of around 90%, which would have pleased Brendan Rodgers no end.
More important than the plain statistics, however, was his vision and pinpoint accuracy; had Sturridge headed rather than volleyed Gerrard’s excellent cross in the 85^th minute, Rodgers would have seen his side collect all three points.
We saw in this match how Liverpool’s defence still has one or two teething problems since the retirement of Jamie Carragher; the Kop will be hoping Gerrard carries on for a while yet as they look to reclaim their place at the top of English football.

I think now is the time to shift to original 4-4-2 system, now that coutinho is returning and get DAGGER and Skrtel back together.
We also need another coutinho type AM . Hope we strengthen that position soon in january.