Liverpool bagged a 3-2 win against Newcastle United in their second Premier League match of the 2025/26 campaign on August 25, at St. James' Park
The first half of the intense match ended with the Reds opening their score with Ryan Gravenberch's goal in the 35th minute, followed by Anthony Gordon receiving a straight red card, leaving Newcastle with 10 men on the pitch for the other half of the game.
Hugo Ekitike doubled the lead for Liverpool at the beginning of the second half, while Bruno Guimaraes netted the first goal for Newcastle in the 57th minute. William Osula came off the bench to score the equaliser for the Magpies in the 88th minute.
Liverpool sealed their victory with Rio Ngumoha’s goal from an assist by Mohamed Salah in 90+10 minutes.
Even though the Reds were able to secure the win, head coach Arne Slot was not impressed with the way the game unfolded, mentioning that the match 'didn't have a lot to do with tactics.'
What did Arne Slot say about Liverpool's win over Newcastle?
While speaking in the post-match press conference, Slot criticised how the game was majorly dependent on set-pieces, and said,
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"I'm not too sure if I saw a football match today. It was set-piece after set-piece, long throw. It didn't have a lot to do with tactics, what I said before the game, but I liked a lot how we stood strong. Very difficult first half hour, 45 minutes, but we didn't collapse at all, we stood strong," as per Sky Sports.
"Going down to 10 men, you would expect that that is a big plus for us, but when a goalkeeper takes every free kick, then there's not so much help if you are one player up, and that's why it was so difficult for us to bring the 2-0 over the line."
The Dutch manager also mentioned that Newcastle being down to 10 players was not as 'beneficial' to the Reds and added,
"I don't think there was so much open play to be played. In a set-piece, a long throw-in, a long ball from the goalkeeper, you don't need an extra man. It's always nice to have an extra player on hand, but it's just not as beneficial as if they want to bring the ball out from the back and we can press them. So, yes, with the ball, the one and only attack that was good in the second half, apart from maybe the 2-0, that was the one that led to the goal, which was a great attack."
"And for the first time, we went from right to the middle to the left, and a great goal for a 16-year-old. Maybe it wasn't the best game in terms of tactics or in terms of playing football, but I think every fan everywhere around the world enjoyed watching this game of football, also because their fans were amazing in terms of the help they gave the home team."
The match between Liverpool and Newcastle saw the ball in play for just 40.8% of the game, which has been the lowest in a Premier League fixture since February 2010.
After adding three points to the table, Liverpool are set to host Arsenal at Anfield in their next league match on August 31.
Liverpool news and related links
- Liverpool's Rio Ngumoha matches Rooney's legendary Premier League feat
- Anthony Gordon breaks silence after Van Dijk red card incident
- 16-year-old Rio Ngumoha gives Liverpool thrilling win over 10-man Newcastle