Chancers on the field And off a point seconds after VAR heartache
Magpies make Liverpool pay for woeful finishing as they pinch
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp slammed his stars for not taking their chances on the park and admitted the club’s reputation has been “trashed” off it.
The Super League fallout has left a dark cloud over Anfield and Newcastle midfielder Joe Willock blackened Klopp’s mood with a leveller in injury time.
An extra minute was added for a VAR decision which had ruled out a Cal lum Wilson goal in stoppage time and on- loan Arsenal man Willock took full advantage. He drove home with the aid of a deflection off Fabinho to leave Klopp fuming at another wasted opportunity.
The German, who had seen Mo Salah open the scoring, said: “I don’t think you can create many better chances than we did. We scored a wonderful goal but didn’t finish the game off.
“They deserved the goal because they had scored before... we didn’t even take the present. We were lucky with VAR and gave another chance away, it makes no sense and it’s really tough to take. Why it happened I don’t know.
“It’s a point but it feels like a defeat. Today I didn’t see that we deserved to play in the Champions League next year.”
Klopp was right as usual. This unconvincing performance did little for Liverpool’s top-four aspirations.
Salah’s goal from their first shot on target was a class apart as he succeeded where Robbie Fowler and Luis Suarez came up short by scoring 20 Premier League goals in a season for a third time.
The Egypt international spun
Matt Ritchie to drill home leftfooted after Ciaran Clark’s poor header from Sadio Mane’s cross in the third minute.
Salah now has 93 in 140 league games and moved into the top 12 of the club’s all-time goalscorers with 123 in 198 matches.
Unfortunately none of his previously prolific team-mates came close to matching him.
With the clock showing 93 minutes Wilson bundled the ball over the line, only for VAR to rule the ricochet on to his elbow off goalkeeper Alisson was handball.
The home side’s reprieve proved to be short-lived when Willock
struck. Klopp admitted in his programme notes he found it difficult seeing the reputation of the club “trashed” over the Super League when the criticism should have been aimed at John W Henry’s Fenway Sports Group.
Around 150 supporters greeted the team coach’s arrival but only a fraction took the opportunity to protest – with homemade banners which carried slogans like “£nough is £nough FSG Out” and “Henry, you have blood on your hands”.
NO GOAL