Resurfacing work on the runway at Newcastle Airport meant there was no quick return to Merseyside for Liverpool.
With flying out of the question, the 180-mile journey back had to be done via road. There was much for head coach Arne Slot and his staff to ponder on the three-hour drive.
Their lead at the top of the Premier League had been trimmed to seven points after Caoimhin Kelleher’s glaring misjudgement was punished by Fabian Schar’s late equaliser in a 3-3 draw at St James’ Park.
After the glory of defeating heavyweights Real Madrid and Manchester City, momentum was slowed. A thrilling second-half resurgence — spearheaded by the brilliance of Mohamed Salah — ultimately failed to yield an eighth successive win in all competitions.
Frustration was writ large on the faces of the Liverpool players as they left the stadium. They knew this was an opportunity missed but in the cold light of day it is not a bad point.
Title rivals Arsenal lost at Newcastle and Manchester City only managed a point. Considering Slot’s side served up their worst 45 minutes of the season in the first half, there were positives to take from salvaging something from such a testing night.
Salah struck twice, created one for Curtis Jones and saw another sensational effort bounce back off the bar. The prolific Egyptian now boasts 15 goals and 12 assists in 21 appearances this season — a goal involvement every 63 minutes. It is unclear what he still needs to prove to the club’s hierarchy regarding the importance of ensuring he stays put beyond next summer.
“Mo had a massive impact on the game,“ Slot said. “It’s difficult for me to predict the long-term future but he is in a very good place at the moment and in a very good team that provides him with good opportunities and he is able to do special things.
“In the first half we had a lot of problems with their intensity and aggressiveness. They forced us into too many mistakes. It wasn’t that difficult to be better in the second half and that’s what we were. We dominated the second half. Being 3-2 up one minute before the end it feels a disappointment of course to drop two points.”
Trent Alexander-Arnold, who laid on two assists, and fellow substitute Dominik Szoboszlai, also made eye-catching contributions.
But this was also a contest that displayed some chinks in Liverpool’s armour. There was encouragement for those in hot pursuit as they dropped points for only the third time this season.
More than anything they looked jaded after the amount of energy expended in recent triumphs. Ryan Gravenberch had played the full 90 minutes in all of Liverpool’s 18 Premier League and Champions League matches prior to Wednesday night.
The Dutchman has been integral to their outstanding form, relegating missing out on the signing of Real Sociedad holding midfielder Martin Zubimendi in the summer to a mere footnote. But for the first time this season Gravenberch looked like a player feeling the strain. He won just two out of seven duels and was booked before being replaced midway through the second half.
With Alexis Mac Allister banned for Saturday’s Merseyside derby after collecting a fifth booking, Liverpool desperately need to get Gravenberch purring again. Szoboszlai and Jones look certain to start alongside him at Goodison Park.
Defensively, the injury situation is starting to cause a headache for Slot. With Ibrahima Konate (knee), Conor Bradley (hamstring) and Kostas Tsimikas (ankle) all sidelined, he is limited when it comes to being able to rotate at the back.
Jarell Quansah did play right-back at times at academy level, but Newcastle away was his first senior start in that position and it showed. Slot understandably wanted to avoid over-burdening Alexander-Arnold so soon after his return from injury, but the difference when the vice-captain was introduced was vast.
So assured against City, Joe Gomez endured a much tougher night against the club he nearly joined last summer and was fortunate that Anthony Gordon failed to punish his most careless mistake after a misplaced backpass.
It was the first time in Slot’s reign that Liverpool had conceded three goals in a game. Newcastle’s expected goals (xG) total of 2.09 was comfortably the highest Liverpool have allowed in a game so far this season — the previous mark was set by Aston Villa’s 1.38xG at Anfield last month.
Having fought back from 1-0 and 2-1 down, they were 3-2 up in the closing stages but there was little semblance of control from the visitors. They couldn’t take the sting out of proceedings like they have done previously this season.
At the top end of the field, Salah’s ridiculous numbers have served to mask the lack of output from Darwin Nunez. The Uruguayan striker has only netted once in his past nine appearances and boasts just three goals in 18 matches in all competitions in 2024-25. That is not sufficient.
There is no questioning Nunez’s work ethic but the lack of composure and belief in the final third remains an ongoing concern. His three shots against Newcastle failed to force a single save and he snatched wastefully at the best chance to come his way.
The return of Diogo Jota, who has not featured since the win over Chelsea in October due to a chest injury, cannot come soon enough. Fellow attacker Federico Chiesa is also on the comeback trail, having scored during an hour-long outing in Liverpool Under-21s’ Premier League International Cup defeat by Danish outfit Nordsjaelland on Wednesday.
December is relentless for Liverpool. This was their second of nine matches in all competitions before the turn of the year.
Everton, buoyed by an emphatic win over fellow strugglers Wolverhampton Wanderers, will be fired up for what is likely to be the last Goodison derby on Saturday. Liverpool simply cannot afford a repeat of their limp start against Newcastle, when they lost battles all over the field and surrendered the initiative.
Then there is a trip to Girona in the Champions League, a home league game with Fulham and Southampton away in the last eight of the Carabao Cup. The year ends with Tottenham away, Leicester City at home and West Ham United away in the league.
This result should not shake Liverpool. They remain in a position of strength. They have surpassed all expectations so far and there are bound to be some blips along the way. But if they are going to stay out in front then they need to learn from a crazy night at St James’ Park when they twice dug themselves out of a hole but failed to get over the line.
(Top photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
