Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle: Awful officiating ends unbeaten run as Isak bags on debut
A brutal end to an otherwise brilliant night for Newcastle United, as a 98th minute goal from Fabio Carvalho broke hearts on Tyneside.
Alexander Isak opened the scoring with an emphatic finish on his debut before Roberto Firmino equalised midway through the second half.
It looked like we'd held on for a thoroughly deserved point - which could've been more had VAR not disallowed what would've been a stunning second for Isak - but officials allowed Liverpool to play almost THREE minutes beyond the allotted time and Carvalho smashed in off the bar to win it at the death for Liverpool.
Howe made FOUR changes to the side that drew 1-1 at Wolves last Sunday, seeing Alexander Isak make his full debut in Chris Wood's place after our club record signing finally received his work permit this afternoon.
Elsewhere, Jamaal Lascelles and Dan Burn come in at centre-back, replacing Sven Botman and Fabian Schar, while Ryan Fraser replaces the injured Allan Saint-Maximin for his first start of the season.
It was a high-intensity start from both sides, although there was an early scare for Eddie Howe as Nick Pope went down off the ball and called for the doctor. It seemed he was unwell, not injured, but it was concerning to see for a number of reasons - especially when Martin Dubravka was sat in Manchester waiting to sign after a medical!
Thankfully, the big man recovered and our lively start continued, with Isak firing over after cutting inside and Kieran Trippier firing a free-kick at Alisson after Willock was caught high by Fabinho.
Liverpool went close after Luis Diaz rounded Pope, but his effort went just over after two recovering Newcastle defenders narrowed his angle to goal.
Then, the moment we'd all been hoping for arrived, as a superb through ball from Sean Longstaff put Isak in behind. Our £60m Swede had Alisson to beat, Van Dijk on his back and thousands of Mags behind the goal ready to go wild and he did not disappoint, smashing a right-footed shot into the roof of the net before brilliant scenes erupted in the away end! 1-0 Newcastle away at Anfield!
We came through a period of Liverpool pressure leading up to the break and went in ahead, failing to give the hosts a single shot on target over the first 45 minutes.
It was a brilliant first half performance. Brave, energetic, fully committed and so refreshing to see us playing Liverpool at their own game, not sitting back and hoping for a 0-0 as we'd seen in previous years gone by.
We came out positively in the second half and came within millimeters of making it 2-0. It was that man Isak, who got in behind, sat down two Liverpool players and smashed past Alisson once again, only for the flag to go up.
VAR footage then arrived, showing the 6ft 4' striker practically in line with Gomez. If he was off, it was by a toe.
A tough one to take and even more frustrating when Liverpool then drew level five minutes later, as Bobby Firmino slotted into the far corner from a Mo Salah cut back. 1-1 and Anfield was finally alive again after sounding incredibly subdued and frustrated for the opening 60 minutes.
I then expected a wave of Liverpool pressure, however we managed to settle things down over the next 15 minutes, even if our attacking threat was lessened by a double change that saw Jacob Murphy and Chris Wood replace the dangerous Isak and Fraser.
Joelinton was a monstrous presence in midfield, winning 50/50s, pouncing on loose balls and arriving just when we needed him too to mop up dangerous situations in and around the box. Pope was also stepping up when needed like so many others in black and white, being quick off his line, commanding with high balls and reliable with his hands as he did well to handle awkward efforts from Diaz.
We were still having the odd moment on the counter, but Murphy looked weak, wasteful and lacking in conviction every time he burst into space.
Elliot Anderson was then called over by Howe and came on for the final 10 minutes, replacing the relentless Almiron who had put in another big shift down that right-hand side. The 19-year-old moved over to the left, seeing Murphy swap to the right for the closing stages.
We looked shattered at this point, with heavy passes and silly fouls creeping into our game as we edged towards the 90-minute mark. But we knew that we were just a few minutes away from maintaining our unbeaten start to the season and earning a well deserved result at Anfield.
Trippier went into the book for a blatant trip on Diaz and five minutes of added time was then signalled by the fourth official. Well, we say five but Andre Marriner decided to play almost eight, as Carvalho smashed in off the bar after a scramble in the box to break Newcastle hearts.
A truly baffling piece of officiating and a sickening end to what should've been another great night for Eddie Howe's Mags.
Next up, Palace at St James' Park on Saturday.
STARTING XI: Pope - Trippier, Lascelles, Burn, Targett - Willock, S Longstaff, Joelinton - Almiron, Isak, Fraser.
SUBS: Darlow, Botman, Schar, Lewis, Manquillo, Anderson, Ritchie, Murphy, Wood.
