On August 23, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville commented on Liverpool's 2-2 draw with Newcastle.
The opening weekend of the new Premier League season was anything but dull, with several results defying pre-match predictions. At St. James' Park, we witnessed a dramatic match played in an atmosphere reminiscent of the Kevin Keegan era.
Neville: It was indeed a great match. The pace was extremely fast, and both teams showed real quality in the attacking third. I think Liverpool will be very disappointed. But from Newcastle's perspective, I've been quite pessimistic about their prospects over the past few weeks. After all, they lost their head coach, Eddie Howe, who was excellent here—winning promotion a few years ago and leading the team to the Champions League—while also losing many key players.
They were without Trippier, Guimaraes, Tonali, Gordon, and Joelinton, who didn't play today. You have to wonder how they'll cope with these absences. Losing a head coach is difficult enough, but losing both the head coach and the team's midfield engine at the same time is a real challenge. I thought this could be a very tough season. Of course, it's too early to draw conclusions, but I need to learn how to pronounce the new manager's name correctly.
Looking at today's performance, Fabian Hürzeler must be very satisfied. I think he managed the game well and made good tactical substitutions. The midfield pairing of Sander Berge and Lewis Miley is particularly impressive—one is 18 and the other is 20. Facing players like Gravenberch and Ryan Gravenberch, you might expect them to be overwhelmed. But Wissa and these two young midfielders did an excellent defensive job. Newcastle's backline held firm, and their attacking players created real threats for Liverpool on the counter-attack. So the new head coach got almost everything he could have asked for today.
The start of the match was crucial. In the first 10 to 15 minutes, you could see that Newcastle had to score for two reasons. Firstly, to encourage the fans and show them, “Okay, we won’t have a terrible season.” Secondly, to give the players confidence and show them that they can compete at this level.
I think if Liverpool had scored first, Newcastle's morale would likely have dropped quickly. So they showed strong commitment today. Trust and respect come from working together over time, but commitment is non-negotiable. Whatever you do in life, especially playing football in a stadium like this in front of these fans, you must give everything for your shirt. You must be passionate and love the game.
I'll bring Kevin Keegan's name into this—I played under him for two years with England. His passion is extraordinary. I consider myself very passionate about football, but when you meet Kevin Keegan, that passion is magnified at least 100 times. His enthusiasm and ability to keep everyone around him positive every day are exactly what St. James' Park needs. Today, these players did very well for Newcastle. They'll leave the field feeling much lighter.
Of course, they suffered a setback at the end, which we'll discuss later. But overall, they have reason to be positive because many people before the game were thinking: "We're probably going to get beaten today." To be honest, before kickoff, I expected Liverpool to win quite easily.
So Newcastle fans, the coaching staff, and the club ownership were probably anxious about what would happen. Management must have been thinking that a heavy defeat, with only a week left before the transfer window closed, would put them under immense pressure. So today's result gives them at least a sigh of relief.
Elanga is a young player you knew from your Man United days. Even then, he always seemed easily affected by the emotions of the game. When he is in form, he can be excellent. He scored just five minutes into the new season, despite not scoring a single Premier League goal for Newcastle throughout last season. This goal must be very important to him.
Neville: Yes. In that one-on-one speed contest, I wouldn’t place the main blame for the conceded goal on Conor Bradley. Bradley was responsible for marking him and chased back, but I don’t think he did much wrong. I think the problem lay elsewhere. There was a gap in midfield at that moment, and Van Dijk and Konate didn’t tuck in quickly enough. In modern football, if your midfield is bypassed, your center-backs must cover quickly. That’s essential.
But Bradley ultimately got into a foot race with Elanga—it was like an Olympic sprint. His acceleration was very destructive. Watching it unfold, you could see what was about to happen from a long way off. You knew Elanga would knock the ball forward, and a one-on-one with Alisson is still difficult to convert. Later, you saw Alisson save a one-on-one from Wissa too.
However, I do think Alisson was slightly exposed on his near post for that goal. Perhaps because the counter-attack was so quick, he didn't fully judge his positioning relative to the ball when moving laterally, leaving space at the far post. Elanga struck it beautifully—it was a great moment for him.
Before the match, I thought Newcastle's front four would cause Liverpool problems. Wissa was particularly impressive today—I didn't expect him to be quite so effective, but he was really difficult to deal with. Then you have Elanga and Gordon as well. In fact, Newcastle's biggest strength on the field today was their front four.
Looking at Liverpool's full-backs, Bradley and Robertson, they do leave space defensively. I don't think any winger facing them would feel completely comfortable. You have to track them because they're strong going forward and pose a real attacking threat, but defensively, you can certainly attack them and create advantages against them.
So this was an excellent start for Newcastle. It gave them the feeling that they belong in this game. Combined with the Kevin Keegan tribute and the incredible atmosphere at the start, you felt the real St. James' Park was back.
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