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Newcastle United’s Ayoze Pérez adds Liverpool’s scalp to Tottenham’s Newcastle United’s Ayoze Pérez adds Liverpool’s scalp to Tottenham’s
(about 4 hours later)
Stoppage time was drawing to a close when Alan Pardew permitted himself a little smile and discreetly pumped a fist. Only a fortnight ago anyone seeking the perfect definition of the term “dead man walking” needed look no further than Newcastle United’s manager but four successive victories – three in the Premier League – have changed his landscape beyond recognition. Stoppage time was drawing to a close when Alan Pardew permitted himself a little smile and discreetly pumped a fist. Barely a fortnight ago anyone seeking the perfect definition of the term “dead man walking” needed look no further than Newcastle United’s manager but four successive victories – three in the Premier League – have altered his landscape beyond recognition.
Much more of this and, instead of being sacked by Mike Ashley, Pardew will be challenging for another manager of the year award. He certainly succeeded in outwitting his old friend Brendan Rodgers – once his youth coach at Reading – on an afternoon when Ayoze Pérez’s winning goal emphasised Liverpool’s disappointing inability to cope with Newcastle’s formidably fleet footed counterattacking. There was certainly no arguing with the Newcastle fan dressed as a skeleton who stood behind the home dugout at the end wearing a Halloween mask and bearing a placard declaring: “Pardew: back from the dead.”
Newcastle’s new-look, beautifully calibrated, 4-3-3 formation was clearly suiting them and when Gabriel Obertan accelerated down the right before slipping the ball to Moussa Sissoko they might have won a penalty. Caught on the ankle by Joe Allen as he shaped to shoot, Sissoko appealed to the referee but Andre Marriner was not convinced. The good news for Pardew was that Newcastle’s players were clearly buying into his gameplan. Much more of this and, rather than being sacked, English football’s answer to Lazarus will be challenging for another manager of the ear award. He certainly succeeded in outwitting his old friend Brendan Rodgers – once his youth coach at Reading – on an afternoon when Ayoze Pérez’s winning goal emphasised Liverpool’s disappointing inability to cope with Newcastle’s formidably fleet-footed counterattacking.
Mehdi Abeid, especially, impressed in midfield. While Abeid contributed such vital interceptions as well as delivering decent dead balls the team’s collective resolve was epitomised when Daryl Janmaat sprinted several yards to steal the ball from the onrushing Jordan Henderson with a tremendous tackle. Pardew has remodelled Newcastle into a beautifully calibrated 4-3-3 formation which balances his side’s fantastic pace with latterly absent defensive organisation.
The loss of Obertan’s pace down the right, after something appeared to go in a hip, was a blow to Pardew but meant Liverpool had to contend with Rolando Aarons. If the emergence of Pérez could not have been more timely, Mehdi Abeid, making his first Premier League start, shone in midfield alongside the outstanding Moussa Sissoko.
The England Under-20s left-winger worried Rodgers’s defence following his introduction from the bench but, for all their and fight and pace suffused counterattacking flair, Newcastle had no cause for complacency. “If you’re Newcastle manager it’s not all gin and tonics and aperitifs,” said a smiling Pardew. “There’ll be rough days. Bobby Robson had some dark days here.
They received a reminder of their vulnerability as Steven Gerrard whipped in a corner and Martin Skrtel zoomed into the area before directing a formidably powerful header narrowly wide. “But I always knew we had good spirit and talent and it’ll be fantastic in the town tonight. I might even go into the city myself – it’ll be the first time in a while!”
It proved a rare first-half visiting attack. Indeed by then a strangely incoherent Liverpool would have been behind had Glen Johnson not cleared Papiss Cissé’s angled six-yard shot off the line with Simon Mignolet awol. With their new configuration clearly suiting them Newcastle could have won an early penalty when Gabriel Obertan accelerated down the right and picked out Sissoko, who promptly had his heel clipped by Joe Allen. While Andre Marriner was not quite convinced, the good news for Pardew was that his players were clearly buying into a gameplan revolving around rapid changes of pace as Newcastle oscillated between tight defence and lightning breaks.
Restored to a deeper, more central role than in recent months, Sissoko looks a midfielder reborn. His fine dribble late in the first half resulted in a slightly desperate, correctly booked, challenge from Skrtel but Cissé squandered the subsequent free-kick, ballooning the ball over Mignolet’s bar. The manner in which Abeid, Sissoko and Jack Colback suffocated much of Liverpool’s passing at source impressed but the team’s collective resolve was fully epitomised when Daryl Janmaat sprinted several yards to steal the ball from Jordan Henderson with a tremendous tackle.
At the other end Tim Krul had probably not expected to be so underemployed but, with Rodgers’s midfield malfunctioning, Mario Balotelli’s frequently creditable effort off the ball proved forlorn. Perhaps significantly, Balotelli’s principal first-half contribution was to offer Johnson an apparent lecture on tactics during the interruption to play while the medics worked on Obertan. Even when injury deprived Pardew of Obertan there was little respite for Liverpool, who found themselves instead confronted by Rolando Aarons’s equally intimidating pace.
With Newcastle keeping it tight and defending deep before breaking at speed, Liverpool seemed nonplussed. Quite apart from their passing game being frequently suffocated at source, Rodgers’s players had the additional anxiety of being caught cold on the counterattack. Apparently unsure how to react they were reduced to looking distinctly ordinary and, sometimes, downright untidy. Like Newcastle, Rodgers’s side are in transition but their adaptation to life after Luis Suárez seems at a painful juncture. Anfield’s class of 2014-15 created only one first-half chance when Martin Skrtel directed a powerful header narrowly wide from Steven Gerrard’s corner.
Raheem Sterling cannot have expected to find himself shackled so comprehensively by Paul Dummett. Restored to a deeper, more central role than in recent months, Sissoko looks a midfielder reborn. His fine dribble late in the first half resulted in a slightly desperate challenge from Skrtel but Papiss Cissé – who earlier had a shot cleared off the line by Glen Johnson – squandered the subsequent free-kick, ballooning the ball over Simon Mignolet’s bar.
Shafts of sunshine for the Reds were few and far between, although Balotelli did test Krul courtesy of a deceptively swerving free-kick early in the second half. Apparently unsure how to react to Newcastle’s tactics Liverpool were reduced to looking distinctly ordinary and, sometimes, downright untidy. Raheem Sterling in particular cannot have expected to find himself shackled so comprehensively by Paul Dummett.
The Italian was evidently warming up as, shortly afterwards, Balotelli defied Steven Taylor’s tight marking by manoeuvring himself into sufficient space to somehow unleash a curling shot that Krul prevented from creeping just inside a post. Shafts of Merseyside sunshine were rare, although Mario Balotelli did test Tim Krul with a deceptively swerving free-kick early in the second half.
If fluency was still largely absent from Liverpool’s play they at least shifted from reactive to much more proactive mode. Soon Philippe Coutinho forced the afternoon’s most difficult save with Krul doing well to keep his header from Gerrard’s cross out. The Italian – whose principal first-half contribution was giving Johnson an apparent tactical lecture while Obertan was treated – emerged very late for the second half but should not be made a scapegoat for Liverpool’s shortcomings here. Some of Balotelli’s off the ball movement was clever enough but, with Sterling ineffective and the midfield malfunctioning, it was asking a lot to expect him to win the game single-handed. And at least he refrained from rising to provocation after being hacked down by first Janmaat then Abeid in swift succession.
Fully getting into things Balotelli whipped the ball away from Abeid’s toes only to be hacked down by a brutal tackle from Janmaat who, quite rightly, saw yellow. Seconds later Abeid, determined to atone, felled Balotelli who, sensibly, refrained from rising to the provocation. Philippe Coutinho came closest to scoring for the visitors, his second-half header forcing Krul into a fine save. By then Cissé had been forced off with knee trouble but Pardew had a more than able replacement in Pérez who proceeded to score his second goal in six days.
With tempers rising, Fabio Borini, on for Allen, shot fractionally wide. It was another substitute though who actually scored. Ayoze Pérez, signed from Tenerife in the summer was supposed to spend most of his season in Peter Beardsley’s development squad but instead the 21-year-old striker has found himself fast-tracked. Pouncing on Alberto Moreno’s failure to clear Sissoko’s low cross following a one-two with Dummett, the 21-year-old, £1.5m signing from Tenerife intervened to incisive effect, hooking the ball home from close range. Pérez subsequently very nearly created a second for Rémy Cabella after playing a quick one-two with his fellow substitute but Mignolet rescued Liverpool, saving smartly with his legs.
Once Cissé was forced off by pain caused by screws inserted in his knee during springtime surgery, Pérez stepped off the bench. It did not take him long to score his second winner in two games, after last Sunday’s goal at Tottenham. “I didn’t think we deserved to lose,” said Rodgers, who thought Sissoko might have been sent off for a bad tackle on Allen. “But we didn’t do enough to win.”
Pouncing on Alberto Moreno’s failure to clear Sissoko’s ball, Pérez intervened to incisive effect, hooking the ball home from six yards. He very nearly created a second for Rémy Cabella after playing a pacy one-two with his fellow substitute but Mignolet rescued Liverpool, saving brilliantly with his legs.
There was still time for Pérez – who else? – to dispossess Gerrard as Liverpool menaced in the dying seconds.