Gary Neville believes that the decision to award Liverpool a stoppage-time penalty this afternoon was the correct one.
The Reds were minutes away from being consigned to defeat in Andoni Iraola’s first official game in charge, but they were handed a late lifeline when Lewis Hall impeded Victor Munoz inside the box and referee Stuart Attwell pointed to the spot.
Dominik Szoboszlai ultimately assumed responsibility for the penalty and, in the ninth minute of added time, slammed it into the roof of the net to rescue a point for the visitors, the newest entry to a catalogue of last-gasp salvage acts at St James’ Park.
Neville agreed with penalty decision
Speaking on co-commentary for Sky Sports, Neville felt that the Newcastle left-back would have to take his medicine over the penalty incident, having made contact with the Liverpool winger but not the ball.
The ex-Manchester United defender said: “Hall has been incredible but that is not going to be overturned. There was no touch on the ball… I think Hall knows deep inside that it was a penalty.”
The right decision, but Liverpool got out of jail
Newcastle fans may argue that Munoz went to ground quite easily and made sure that he got the spot kick, but slow-motion replays showed that there was contact from the Magpies defender on the knee of the Reds’ summer signing.
Szoboszlai showed no mercy for the natives at St James’ Park as he emphatically buried the penalty, and while the referee’s decision was correct, even the most ardent Liverpool fan would admit that their team may have gotten out of jail this afternoon.
Iraola’s team looked set to pay the price for what Jamie Carragher bemoaned as the ‘madness’ of being all too easily played through for both Newcastle goals, but the Hungarian midfielder (and new joint-vice captain) came up clutch for his side when they needed it most.
The Reds will take the point from this game, but the head coach will realise that a vastly improved performance is needed if they’re to get a first win on the board at home to Nottingham Forest next Saturday.
It’s a tough one to stomach for the Magpies, but Liverpool will be relieved to avoid what would’ve been a first opening weekend defeat in the Premier League since 2012 (3-0 v West Brom).
A new manager, a new season but the same weaknesses, the Same goals conceded.
Two on the counter attack, the first there was nobody in midfield no protection for the defence.
The second a Newcastle player runs straight through three Liverpool players in central midfield.
Newcastle had other chances to put the game out of sight,
Gakpo was our best player, Rio Ngumoha had his worst game for Liverpool, totally anonymous.
He’s a left winger, play him on the right and you don’t get the best of him.
As usual wirtz and isak did nothing, they are passengers in this Liverpool team, as they were last season.
Keep playing two in midfield and the problems will continue. Gravenberch and Szoboszlai is not the Answer. Any decent manager should know this.
IRAOLA making the same mistakes as slot.
Count the tackles, duels won, the lack of physicality in this Liverpool team. Wissa run the show, we couldn’t handle him. Our midfield, like last season not strong enough, not good enough.
Everyone keeps saying the same thing. Had Gravenberch found somebody in the box it could’ve been a different conversation. We build so nicely and keep losing the ball in the opposition box.
Van Dyke ran parallel with the Newcastle player when they scored the second goal, tracked him side by side from just inside the Liverpool half and never attempted to tackle him. Van Dyke is a BIG problem in that defence.
We were lucky. However we can see that iraola is brave enough to substitute wirtz and gravenberch. Iraola has publicly asked for more players. Now fsg and the new consortium needs to do their job. No point in hiring a good manager but not giving him the proper tools.