Timid Toon punished at both ends on frustrating night - Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle

A frustrating night on Merseyside as our lack of quality at one end and soft defending at the other allowed Liverpool to win comfortably without being at their brilliant best.

Alexander Isak's absence was felt up top - we didn't have a single shot on target - and we didn't defend well enough for either goal, with poor giveaways and slack marking allowing them to score two either side of the break.

Finding the balance is always a battle at a place like Anfield, but we'll have to show more quality, aggression and organisation in the Carabao Cup final to get one over a Liverpool side who didn't have to get out of second gear to win tonight. Having Isak, Botman and Joelinton back for then would be a huge help, with all three missed tonight.

With Chelsea winning 4-0 against Southampton last night, Man City beating Spurs, Nottingham Forest taking a point at home to Arsenal and Bournemouth and Aston Villa both losing, we end the night sixth in the table; two behind fifth and two ahead of 10th.

Howe made two changes from Sunday's 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest and one of them was a concern, as a 'slight groin problem' saw Alexander Isak miss out, with the other seeing Sandro Tonali replace Lewis Miley.

The first half was a case of what could have been, as Liverpool's early opener was so soft - a reoccurring theme in recent weeks that we have to sort out - and we wasted one or two big chances at the other end.

For their goal, Diaz was able to get in down the left too easily, Schar didn't do enough to stop the cross, Szoboszlai peeled off Tonali and the Hungarian's weak shot crept in, with Pope beaten down to his left after we failed to get a block in.

Our response to their 10th minute opener was decent. We were trying to commit bodies forward - even if it sometimes left us a little open on the counter - and it wasn't the passive, weak and lazy display we saw at Man City in our last away game, but the final ball or finish was constantly lacking. Murphy's crossing was poor and Wilson was the biggest culprit, firing well wide after latching onto Burn's clearance that caught Liverpool's back line napping.

Isak's pace, sharpness and finishing touch was missing and it was noticeable that Gordon kept drifting inside, denying him the opportunity to get at a defensively suspect Alexander-Arnold. Quite often it looked more like a 4-4-1-1, with Willock operating down the left, without a great deal of joy.

It was a slow start to the second half from both sides, not helped by Wilson's whack to the head that stopped play for several minutes, but that theme continued around our lack of quality in attack and just after the hour mark Liverpool killed it off.

Tonali gave the ball away cheaply as we looked to break, Liverpool countered and Salah's cut-back to Mac Allister was fired into the top corner. 2-0, yet seconds later we missed a big chance to pull one back after Gordon broke in down the left but found no one in the middle.

Howe then made four changes with just over 20 minutes to play, as Barnes, Osula, Miley and Trippier replaced Willock, Wilson, Tonali and Livramento.

On a night where a rusty Wilson showed his age, Bruno struggled, Gordon didn't do enough and Tonali was well below his brilliant best, one positive was Hall's decent defensive shift against Salah. It says something about his development that he gave as good as he got against the world's most in-form winger. I also thought Miley looked the part after coming on, showing composure and athleticism once again.

Our final change saw Longstaff replace Bruno with a few minutes to go, seeing Trippier take the armband for the final few minutes as the game petered out, with Pope making a decent stop to deny Salah. 2-0 Liverpool and a reminder of the challenge facing us when we meet again on March 16th.

Next up, Brighton at St James' Park on Sunday in the fifth round of the FA Cup, before a trip to West Ham a week on Monday.

Newcastle XI: Pope - Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall - Bruno, Tonali, Willock - Murphy, Wilson, Gordon.

Subs: Dubravka, Trippier, Ruddy, Longstaff, Osula, Miley, Targett, Krafth, Barnes.

HWTL.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3eIgQhR-tk&ab_channel=SkySportsPremierLeague