Jamie Carragher was shocked by one of Jurgen Klopp’s substitutions for Liverpool last night.
The Reds were electric on Monday, blowing Newcastle United away at Anfield. In the end they scored four, but Liverpool could have had seven or eight.
One of the key men on the night was Luis Diaz. Having had a poor time of it of late, a big performance was needed from the Colombian.
And thankfully against Newcastle, Lucho delivered. Carragher was singing his praises during the game itself and post-match he told Sky Sports that he was disappointed to see Diaz taken off just after the hour.
“I was delighted with Diaz, I couldn’t believe he was brought off I must say that,” said the Liverpool legend.
“I didn’t think the changes helped them initially, they seemed to lose their rhythm.”
Luis Diaz back to his best
With Mohamed Salah set to depart for AFCON, Liverpool really need their forwards to step up over the next month.
And although he didn’t score this evening, Diaz really did that against Newcastle.
Over the past few months, the Colombian has looked a shadow of his former self. Slow and lethargic in his build-up play and ineffective in the final third, it has been a struggle to watch Liverpool’s No.7.
However, tonight’s showing was far more like what we saw during Diaz’s opening year or so at Anfield.
The 26-year-old just seemed to have a little more skip in his step, a little more magic in his boots. It was a really encouraging display which should hopefully see him kick on in the coming weeks.
In terms of the substitutions themselves, Carragher is right, they did appear to knock Liverpool off their stride momentarily.
But after wobbling a little, the Reds soon got back on track. Cody Gakpo scored, while Diogo Jota would have if not for a foul from Martin Dubravka. In the end it worked out.
None of that should take away from the performance of Diaz last night. There were a few contenders on an epic night at Anfield, but we just about made him Liverpool’s Man of the Match.
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Jamie Carragher believes that Liverpool could be about to run into a serious problem.
The Reds are currently in a really good moment. Last night’s 4-2 win over Newcastle United means they start the year three points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
For now, all is good. But looming large is the possibility of having to get through the next month without star man Mohamed Salah. After another two goals last night, Salah has been hailed as the ‘world class’ player that he is by Curtis Jones.
But speaking to Sky Sports after last night’s game, Carragher claimed that it’s because of his quality that Liverpool are going to miss the Egyptian so much more.
“That will be a problem,” said the Reds legend, when asked how Jurgen Klopp will replace Salah. “It will be interesting to see who he puts in that position because a lot of Liverpool’s attackers are right footed, they look okay on the left. Jota, Nunez, Gakpo go to the left, nobody looks like they have the right balance for the right.
“A couple of options could be Harvey Elliott, the left foot, he comes inside but I think he is more of a midfield player, probably lacks to the pace to do it. Also Szoboszlai, Liverpool have a lot of midfield options with Mac Allister being back, Endo is going to be fair [to the Asian Cup], but Szoboszlai has played there for a his former club and you then put another midfield player in but you can’t replace his goals. It will be very difficult.”
Carragher states the obvious
If you take a man who scores as many as Salah does out of any team, they’re going to feel it. That is to state the obvious.
But it doesn’t necessarily have to be a ‘problem’ as Carragher puts it for Liverpool.
The one thing working in Klopp’s favour is that he’s had to navigate this very same scenario before. During the last AFCON tournament – back in 2022 – the Reds were also pushing for the title.
Losing Salah was as big a blow then as it is now, but Jurgen also had to deal with a Sadio Mane sized hole on the other side, too.
There was plenty of worry and angst over who would come in and fill the gap then. But as it turned out, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain stepped up and delivered in a big way. Maybe 20-year-old Elliott could be the man to do so this time.
Upon Salah and Mane’s return, Liverpool’s title charge was retained and they eventually missed out on a quadruple by a hair’s breadth.
This time, Klopp only has to plug one hole in his attack. Granted, it’ll be a big one. But with Diogo Jota now back fit, the Liverpool manager has better quality to bring into the team than he did two years ago.
It’s going to be a challenge for the Reds, that’s for sure. However, it’s also a huge opportunity for one of Darwin Nunez, Luis Diaz or Cody Gakpo to really lay down a marker. We’ll be fine, Carra.
Jurgen Klopp says his Liverpool team put on a clinic in counter-pressing against Newcastle United last night.
The Reds could have had 10 on the night, but settled for just the four, with Newcastle also helping themselves to two goals.
It was an even better performance than the scoreline suggested. And speaking to the press after the game, Klopp was keen to highlight the performance of one player in particular.
“Special game. Special game from Curtis [Jones], to be honest: his high press, his counter-press,” raved the Liverpool boss.
“We all know how good a player Curtis is, he is technically incredibly skilled, but he finds more and more direction in his dribbling, he gets better out of situations and his pressing and counter-pressing is meanwhile… he sets the level actually, how it should look. Really happy with that. He keeps every player in the game.
“How I said, the counter-pressing we played today was absolutely exceptional, absolutely. It was a school video, you have to show it if you want to do it. A lot of times people tell me my behaviour is not great and it’s not good for grassroots football. OK, maybe the grassroots team want to play counter-press, then watch the video of that game, that is really helpful.”
Klopp hails Jones masterclass
It was fitting in the end that Jones was able to get himself on the scoresheet last night.
Had he not managed to, there’s a chance that his brilliant performance may have just slipped under the radar.
But the goal is likely to ensure that Curtis gets the praise he is due. Klopp is right, the Scouser was absolutely fantastic against Newcastle.
With his ongoing battle with Ryan Gravenberch for the last slot in the Reds midfield, well, ongoing, this was a good time for Jones to turn up.
He knitted everything together beautifully. When he’s on his game like that, the academy graduate looks like the player Liverpool really need in their midfield.
One thing that has been missing from Jones’ game is certainly goals. But he popped up in the box a couple of times and was unlucky not to have scored before he finally did.
With three goals in his last three starts now, Curtis is threatening to become the whole package.
The challenge for him now is to find the consistency to keep doing this game after game. As Jurgen says, we all know how technically good Jones is. Now is the time for him to nail down that starting spot.
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Curtis Jones says he’s ‘ran out of words’ to describe just how good one of his Liverpool teammates is.
Jones was one of the Reds best players during the 4-2 mauling of Newcastle United last night. But despite his excellent display, there was still someone who stole the headlines ahead of him: Mohamed Salah.
Although he missed a penalty in the first-half, Mo was the man of the moment for Liverpool. He bounced back in the second-half to score twice, including a nerve-less spot-kick. Asked by LFCTV after the game for a few words on the Egyptian King, Jones was simply left in awe.
“I’ve ran out of words I think,” smiled the 22-year-old. “He misses a pen but that’s the thing with Mo and that’s why he’s world-class – he stays in the game.
“Any chance that he gets Mo knows he’s going to score. He has in his head all the time ‘I will score, I will score’. That’s why he’ll miss and he’ll go away with a smile on his face because he knows ‘I’ll get my chance and I’ll score again’.
“He stays in the game and that’s why he’s one of the best in the world and he has been for a number of years now.”
Jones hails Salah show
Jones is absolutely right. What more is there left to say about one of the greatest Liverpool players of all time.
At half-time last night, there was actually a fair bit to say about Salah that hasn’t been said before.
The 31-year-old was sloppy during the opening 45 minutes at Anfield. That isn’t something we’ve become used to seeing.
But after changing his boots at the break, Salah came out for the second-half with an almighty point to prove.
About to head of to the Ivory Coast for AFCON, Mo wasn’t going to let a missed penalty weigh on his conscience while he was away.
The £34m man turned things up a notch for the second-half and quite probably should have left with the match ball.
Instead, two will do for now. It brings him level with the monster that is Erling Haaland at the top of the Premier League scoring charts. Although Haaland has played five games less, that’s still no mean feat from Salah.
We’re going to miss him while he’s away, that’s for sure. Despite the changing faces of this team over recent times, Salah has remained that steady, world class presence. Last night was yet another reminder of that.
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Ian Wright couldn’t quite believe what Diogo Jota did just before Liverpool’s fourth goal against Newcastle United.
Having been put in by an absolutely gorgeous Alexis Mac Allister pass, Jota was in on-goal in the final five minutes of the game.
After rounding Martin Dubravka, the Portugal international looked set to bury the ball into an empty net. But all of sudden, Jota hit the deck. Penalty to Liverpool.
Taking to X just after incident, former Arsenal striker couldn’t quite understand what he’d seen from the Reds striker.
“Would rather go down for a penalty than put the ball in an empty net! Seen it all!” wrote the pundit.
Wright stunned by Jota
We’re not quite sure what there is to be confused about here from Wrighty.
It was certainly a soft penalty on Jota, but there was contact all the same. The insinuation from the pundit is that the player has deliberately gone down instead of scoring.
But why oh why would a striker like Jota – who feeds off goals – do that?
Surely the most simple answer is that the Liverpool man was clipped. Had he been able to, he would have stayed on his feet to score. But he couldn’t.
That also makes the post-match talk of the decision being a controversial one as being slightly redundant.
No, there wasn’t too much contact from the Newcastle goalkeeper, but there really didn’t need to be.
Jota was bearing down on goal, any slight touch on him was going to bring him down.
In the end, it didn’t necessarily matter. Either Jota sticks it in, or Mohamed Salah buries the penalty. What’s the difference?
Personally, we’d also liked to have seen Diogo get his goal, but seeing as he was prevented from doing so, a penalty was rightfully given.
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