Merseysiders showed their true quality
I WAS in the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand at Anfield on Wednesday night and got a very close-up view of what we can expect when Liverpool come to town.
Without the ball the Reds are an unbelievable pressing team and have a fantastic work ethic.
Jurgen Klopp has every single player buying into his philosophy now, from the goalkeeper to his superstar attackers.
Wednesday night against Villarreal was intriguing because the La Liga side came and sat in, meaning Liverpool had to be patient.
They played deep and then tried to play out from the back. Liverpool showed their qualities and showed just what they are, one of the best teams in the world at the moment.
What may work in Newcastle’s favour is the fact that it’s only going to be 60 hours between the game finishing and the kick-off on Tyneside.
That’s not a lot of time to recover for a match as massive as this.
When you are going to the team that are second only to yourselves in the 2022 form table and coming into a fortress like St James’ Park, it’s not an easy game. This is an extremely tough match for Liverpool.
There is always one constant when it comes to Liverpool.
Whenever Liverpool make a substitution, the team shape remains the same – Liverpool make numerous changes per game but the team performs the same.
Take the other night, for instance. Klopp brought on Keita, Jota and Origi plus Gomez. That shows the quality. This is a great example of what Newcastle have to achieve. Perhaps Eddie Howe is moving in the right direction.
He was able to make four changes at Norwich and leave out Jonjo Shelvey, Fabian Schar, Miguel Almiron and Chris Wood. But they still won the game and comfortably.
In the past, making so many changes would have meant an inferior result or performance.
It was always just about the starting XI and if they did well, great. If not there was no Plan B. But Eddie made the changes and the team were still fantastic. It bodes well for the future.
The streets are buzzing – and it’s great to be a part of it. It was always difficult for me as a player and manager to get a feel on what the mood was like in the build-up to games.
You are working hard and preparing for the next one.
You don’t get to experience what is going on in the pubs and clubs in the city centre before the games. You are actually on the field.
At the moment, I’m experiencing it a lot more. The atmosphere in the city is excellent and everybody has a smile on their face.
They are chatting away and looking forward to the game. They are excited and when you get into the stadium it’s electric. This is a complete change at Newcastle for everybody.
I go into the Liverpool game looking forward to it. In the past, even this season, we may have feared it. But I am looking forward to seeing how far we’ve come as a team.