NEWCASTLE – Newcastle football players significantly complicated the situation in the fight for participation in the next year’s Champions League. In Saturday’s match of the 24th round, they lost 0:2 at home to Liverpool and thus did not win for the fourth match in a row.
In addition, Nick Pope saw a red card in the meeting, and the “magpies” must find a goalkeeper for next week’s final duel of the League Cup. Slovakian goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka will not be able to start, as he was already playing for Manchester United in the competition, who will be Newcastle’s opponent in the fight for the trophy.
Players from the North-East of England scored fully in only one match out of the past seven. Moreover, they scored only three goals in them. At the home stadium of St. James Park found a winner after 17 games. Before Sunday’s matches, they were fourth in the table, two points ahead of Tottenham.
The home side Allan Saint Maximin had the first big chance on Saturday, but Liverpool’s goalkeeper Allison shined. Five minutes later, however, Darwin Nunez received an ideal penetrating pass on the offside line and did not hesitate. In the 17th minute, after a similar situation, Cody Gakpo got to the ball and it was 2:0.
“The start was very good from our side, Mickey had a great chance. The difference between success and failure is sometimes very small. With both goals, maybe it was offside, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe Pope played with his hand, maybe not. It’s not typical for us to concede twice in a short sequence, but we reacted well. We had chances even when we were weakened. I felt that if we scored, it could be very interesting at the end. However, the opponent defended very well.” Newcastle coach Eddie Howe evaluated the duel.
In the 22nd minute, Pope tried to prevent a quick counterattack by Mohamed Salah, he ran outside the penalty area, but he failed to head the ball perfectly and the ball hit him in the hand. He can automatically expect to be suspended for one match and has given his club the difficult task of finding a goalkeeper with whom they can fight for the first trophy since 1969.
RED CARD FOR NICK POPE!
He will miss the Carabao Cup Final 😳 pic.twitter.com/Aqw6UeE1fC
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 18, 2023
“It’s tough for Nick. He’s been doing an excellent job for us and to miss such a duel is a blow for him. But we’ll have to make a decision.” Howe stated.
Karius may get a chance
Before the return of Dúbravek from Manchester United, Karl Darlow was the number two of the team, but he went on loan to Hull. Only goalkeepers who haven’t been between the posts for a long time will be available. Mark Gillespie last caught in three League Cup matches in 2020.
Also available is Loris Karius, who last played in the Bundesliga for Union Berlin in February 2021. Still only 29, the German is best remembered by football fans for his lackluster performance for Liverpool against Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final, after which he dropped significantly its value.
After a series of four duels in which they won only a point, Liverpool players returned to the game for European competitions and took full action for the second time in a row. “Both goals were excellent. When you’re not at your best, you have to fight and that’s exactly what we did. It’s too early to say we’re back in the game, but we’ve taken a step forward.” praised Liverpool coach Jürgen Klopp.
- Author: © List
- Instagram/loriskarius, Twitter/ESPN FC
- Source: TASR
