Newcastle United took on quadruple-chasing Liverpool at St James’ Park in the early kick-off on Saturday, with the Reds thrown in at the deep end after playing in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Eddie Howe’s side fell behind in the first half as Naby Keita manoeuvred his way into the box and rounded the ‘keeper before emphatically finishing into the back of the net. For all of Newcastle’s resolve, they couldn’t trouble the Liverpool defence, with Jurgen Klopp’s men taking all three points back to Merseyside via the 1-0 win.
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Despite the game finishing in defeat for the Magpies, there were still plenty of positives to note in some of the individual performances and moments.
Bruno Guimaraes was influential again in the midfield for the Magpies with his tricky play and combative nature, with journalist Chris Waugh picking up on the midfielder’s actions during the game, saying on Twitter after a second-half chance: “Wonderful from Guimaraes, who plays a cheeky inside flick inside his own half to Shelvey, which appeared risky, then advances down right, receives the reverse pass, tries to curl a pass into Saint-Maximin through the middle, but his touch is poor & Matip mops up.”
Newcastle may have lost the game, but their season looks all but safe now, as prior to the game, they had climbed into the top half of the table and still remain there for the time being.
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Guimaraes was influential today despite being on the losing side in the encounter. As per SofaScore, he was involved in 20 ground duels, winning 12 of them – the most on the pitch on Saturday afternoon. So he clearly was heavily involved in the middle of the park, having one of the Toon’s better openings as they chased an equaliser. He had 64 touches, including the fancy flick mentioned by Waugh.
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