Jurgen Klopp did not exactly hold back with his post-match assessment. "The only plan they had, obviously, was long balls to our right side," the Liverpool boss said of Newcastle United following his side's 1-0 win on Saturday.
That tactic unnerved Liverpool a little in the opening stages as Joelinton won a number of headers from goal kicks and left-back Andy Robertson was the first to admit that Newcastle's record signing was 'causing us a couple of problems early on'. However, Liverpool soon adapted and limited Joelinton's influence and Newcastle lacked a threat in the final third thereafter as the Magpies again lined up without a recognised striker.
Eddie Howe started with Allan Saint-Maximin up front in the hope that the Frenchman could hurt the Reds through the middle on the break, but the experiment did not work. However, even when a traditional target man like Chris Wood was brought on midway through the second half, tellingly, the hosts did not look like scoring.
