Newcastle hosted Liverpool amid the Alexander Isak transfer storm, producing a volatile, raucous atmosphere and heightened tensions. Newcastle dominated chances and momentum in the first half despite Liverpool having slightly more possession (52-48). Eddie Howe deputized Anthony Gordon as a nominal striker in a 4-3-3; Gordon's runs into the Liverpool backline forced Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konaté to step up and created space for Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga. Gordon recorded three first-half shots but none after halftime following an ill-advised, violent challenge on van Dijk. The match combined aggressive physicality with exciting football, making it among the season's best.
With the Alexander Isak transfer storm still raging, Monday's Premier League match between host Newcastle United and defending champion Liverpool was always going to be full of intensity and drama. Despite Liverpool's main crime being that the club is interested in a very good player, the Reds came into St. James' Park as the invading force, and the Magpie fans treated them as such, elevating the atmosphere from a simple early season Prem match into something more volatile and raucous.
The Magpies came out riding that wave of emotion on home ground, and were all over Liverpool for most of the first half. Though Liverpool (barely) had more possession (52-48 percent), Newcastle had almost all of the chances and certainly all of the momentum. Playing without Isak, Anthony Gordon was deputized as the nominal striker in Eddie Howe's 4-3-3 formation, and the former Everton lad brought some of the Merseyside Derby's passion to Monday's match. By constantly driving into the Liverpool backline, Gordon forced either Virgil van Dijk or Ibrahima Konaté to move up and close him down, opening up space for passes to Harvey Barnes and Anthony Elanga.
When the Liverpool center backs didn't do that, Gordon shot, and shot often: For the first half he had three shots, though only one on target. Gordon notched zero shots in the second 45, though, and that's because he lost his goddamn mind shortly before halftime. After van Dijk received the ball in his own third, Gordon accelerated from a mile away like a heat-seeking missile and clattered into van Dijk with a ridiculous ta
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