Wednesday 23 October 2013

SAS Salvage Draw at Newcastle

Going into the international break, Liverpool were sitting joint top after a win over Crystal Palace and hoped that their good form would continue away to Newcastle. The past meeting between the sides are famous for being goal fests and in the early kick off on Saturday it was no different.

Newcastle sought revenge for the 6-0 crushing they suffered in April and they started with clear intent of shutting Liverpool down but it took a stunning strike from Cabaye to confirm their pressure as he let go from distance with a powerful shot which spun past the shielding Cissokho which hindered Mignolet's view and saw the ball fly into the net to send the home fans into hysterics.

The Frenchman could have had a second soon after as he hit an effort which came close to the cross bar and his fellow attacker Sissoko could have scored as he tested Mignolet with a strong shot which forced the Belgian to save acrobatically.


Newcastle's dominance suffered a crucial blow three minutes from half time as Suarez who had been fairly quiet so far in the game collected a pass from Sturridge and swooped into the box only to be shoved by Yanga-Mbiwa who saw himself sent off for the offence leaving the Magpies playing with ten for the rest of the game, Gerrard stepped up and successfully scored from the spot for his 100th league goal for Liverpool and ensured the sides were level into the interval.

Liverpool now needed to take advantage and could have taken the lead when Johnson forced Krul to turn the ball past the post early in the half while Skrtel's deft touch prevented Remy from beating Mignolet from close range.

Liverpool's failure to capitalise on their numerical advantage saw Newcastle take a 2-1 lead with a goal from Dummett who latched on to a looping cross to hit past Mignolet and write a new name into Newcastle folklore. Rodgers saw that changes needed to be made to comeback and brought Alberto on in place of Sakho and the change paid dividends as Liverpool were soon back on level terms.

Suarez broke clear and waited for his strike partner Sturridge to race into the area who then connected to the Uruguayan's cross to head home with a diving header as the 'SAS' struck again in devastating style. 

Liverpool pushed forward for a winner and came achingly close as Suarez skimmed the crossbar with a stinging volley but the miss meant the sides shared the points but saw Liverpool return to the top of the table if only for a few hours. 


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