NO STOPPING Klopp delight as Keita keeps JURGEN-AUT his relentless Reds on a roll
JURGEN KLOPP had read the script for what was expected at St James’ Park – and then his players tore it up. He knew the scene had been set for a Premier League title race upset – but it never remotely looked like happening.
Klopp made five changes from the side that beatvillarreal 2-0 in the Champions League and still came up smelling of roses.
He said: “We played two-and-ahalf days ago.we’ve come here, to a team in form who have won six games on the bounce at home.
“There’s great weather, everyone is in a good mood and prepared for another home win.the only group who wanted to avoid that were my players. In the circumstances, it was a top-class performance. I’m really happy.we kept the ball well.we were on fire.”
Forget the scoreline, this was as emphatic an away performance as you could wish to see, with Reds’ keeper Alisson rarely troubled.
Only the improbable hope that Newcastle could capitalise on a slip-up or moment of madness kept Toon fans interested.
Klopp’s Reds were too slick, too quick in mind and body.
As the evergreen James Milner said afterwards: “That’s what our training comes in for, days like these.”
It wasn’t difficult picking out the day’s outstanding performer.that was Martin Dubravka – the bloke standing between the sticks for the Magpies.
It could have gone to Liverpool’s Andy Robertson or Virgil van Dijk, who was peerless. Naby Keita deserves commendation for the cool manner in which he converted the game’s only goal.
But Dubravka repelled almost everything that came his way – and did particularly well in numerous one-on-one duels with Diogo Jota, who will be cursing the Slovakia international this morning.
The only time Dubravka was beaten came in the 19th minute
with what turned out to be the winner.
Almost the whole of St James’ Park was upset at referee Andre Marriner after what appeared, at first glance, to be a foul in the build-up on defender Fabian Schar.
He failed to control a ball and had to stretch as Milner lunged for it.
Liverpool’s veteran midfielder won it cleanly and the centre-half caught the underside of his boot in his follow-through.
The ball rolled to Jordan Henderson who switched it out wide to Keita.
After a neat one-two with Jota, the Guinea international was calmness personified as he dummied and then slotted past a couple of Newcastle players on the goalline.asked about the incident, Newcastle boss Eddie Howe said: “It looked an untidy get-together but my initial thought was we would be lucky if VAR saves us here.”
It didn’t.
Newcastle tried gamely but their front three were snuffed out as soon as they managed a scrap of possession.
Howe said: “It was close, but just not close enough.
“We didn’t have one moment where you thought, ‘We must score’.
“But trying to get the ball against this Liverpool team is really not easy.
“Trying to exert the right amount of pressure to do so without being cavalier is another issue.you need the ball to score. But we weren’t a threat on the counter and our set plays weren’t at the level they have been.
“We weren’t quite right.”
So Jurgen’s juggernaut rumbles on, crushing everything before it.
And on this evidence on Tyneside – where the odds were obviously stacked against them before kick-off – it is going to take something pretty special to stop it.