3 good, 1 bad from Newcastle 2-2 Liverpool

Newcastle United drew 2-2 with Liverpool on Sunday afternoon in a scintillating tie which should’ve brought three points.

Liverpool were lucky to leave Tyneside with anything given the tactical masterclass Matthias Jaissle served up. United’s young guns outworked their more illustrious visitors all over the pitch, in a performance which also saw the rebirth of some of last season’s flops.

The goals came via Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock for Newcastle, while Cody Gakpo and Dominik Szoboszlai netted for the visitors.

Here’s my three good and one bad from the game:

Good: The new tactical setup

Ask anyone inside SJP before kickoff what to expect this season and the answer was likely to be “I don’t know” such has been the turnover in players and staff at the club, but 90 minutes later it was clear that we’re going to be a handful for sides this season.

Jaissle’s Newcastle are demonstratively different from Howe’s side; with an intent in a solid, dogged defence and a counter attacking nous which should’ve brought three or four goals. The two balls flashed across the six-yard box in the second half were delicious and were crying out for someone to put them away and Wissa really should’ve scored when one-on-one with Alisson.

The squeezing of the spaces on the pitch, forcing Liverpool’s attacking flair players into areas they didn’t want to be, the Alamo-esque defence of the box, the high pressing fullbacks on the halfway line at goal kicks; it all deserved to bring home the three points.

The energy levels were incredible too, and this was all after Jaissle has only been in post for a few weeks. Given more time on the training pitch and I think we are in for a hell of ride this season.

Good: Elanga's change in fortunes, 12 months on

Elanga’s miss against Villa one year ago has often been described as his John Dahl Tomasson moment, so there was a delightful symmetry that just five minutes into the new season, the Swede found himself one-on-one with the keeper after an excellent counterattack.

This time, however, Elanga calmly rolled the ball into the back of the net and there was a little redemption for the lad. It was his first Premier League goal for the club, and he looked a man reborn. He was not alone, but considering the absolute disaster his first season in Black and White was, it was worth a special mention.

He looked full of running, worried his fullback at every opportunity, and looked strong on and off the ball, he even put in a few crucial challenges, and he was by far and away the best Swedish international on the pitch.

Bad: A familiar tale of late heartbreak 

We all know the Premier League has its favourite clubs and Liverpool’s late penalty had more than a whiff of a cartel club getting the rub of the green once again. It’s a soft penalty; a clash of legs you see hundreds of times a match all over the pitch in what is supposed to be a contact sport.

But what really rankles is the stoppage time. All the new directives this summer are designed to speed up the game and reduce time wasting, so it was mystifying when the board went up with five minutes on it.

Some will point to the Schar sub adding 30 seconds to the injury time, but I’d argue the initial awarding of the five minutes is the more laughable decision. The ball was barely out of play in the second half; the ref was counting down every throw in and goal kick and all the subs (including Schar’s) only added up to 4 minutes 30 seconds of injury time; the penalty was awarded on 95:18…

Lewis Hall doesn’t deserve to have his performance marked by that foul and I’m starting to wonder if I’ll ever see the same situation go in our favour in my lifetime… I won’t hold my breath.

Good: Faith in youth and players reborn

For all the wonderful things Eddie Howe achieved as United manager, one criticism that often came his way was his lack of faith in young players. Jaissle doesn’t appear to have that issue. Perhaps he is being forced into it due to the nature of the signings we’ve made this summer, but lining up with Miley and Steur in the middle of the park against Gravenberch and Szoboszlai was a real vote of confidence in the young lads.

They were monsters in there and whilst Steur’s passing was sometimes wayward; that will come as he develops and at just 18, the lad has a hell of a future ahead of him. Miley was a machine, covering every blade of grass.

But, more encouragingly, some of last season’s flops looked reborn on Sunday. Wissa was excellent, although he should’ve scored at least one, Elanga impressed so much that he got his own point above. Throw in Willock and Ramsey looking dangerous (and Willocks finish was a peach) and when we must get a tune out of some of last season's flops to be able to do anything this season, it was an excellent first outing for some of them.

A mention too for Hornicek, who despite conceding two, pulled off a couple of excellent saves; the one low down to his left in the first half from Wirtz was world-class. And a final mention too for Dedic, who only arrived a matter of days ago, with a couple of question marks over him from his performance for Benfica here last season. But he was excellent; he never stopped running and his reading of the game in defensive positions was first class too.

So, Sunday was probably more than we all thought it was going to be given the summer the club has had. And with West Brom up next in the Carabao Cup, there’s an opportunity to get some goals under our belt before we travel to the perennial car crash that is Tottenham Hotspur next Saturday.

Keep the faith. HWTL