A look at the national media's take on Newcastle United's defeat against Liverpool.
Anfield performance an 'indicator of improvement'
BBC chief football writer Phil McNulty insisted that Eddie Howe can use everything that went before Liverpool's winner as indicator of improvement, writing in his match report: "As for Newcastle United, the disappointment will have been bitter having looked such a good bet for at least a draw until that late twist in the tale. Manager Eddie Howe, who quietly made notes as Klopp raged in the direction of the Newcastle bench in the first half, will be devastated at the conclusion but satisfied with what went before as an indicator of their improvement.
"And, to their credit, it was done without key injured trio Allan Saint-Maximin, Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson, three players of great importance. All eyes were on debutant Isak and he did not disappoint with an impressive performance, marked by an emphatic finish of total confidence to give Newcastle the lead, when the 22-year-old signed from Real Sociedad thumped a drive high past Alisson after being played in by Sean Longstaff.
"Isak looks like a forward who could give Newcastle an extra dimension with his willingness to do the dirty work as well as offer pace and a very obvious eye for goal. Newcastle may have got right up Anfield's noses with their delaying tactics but their overall effort contributed to that frustration and they looked like a team on the right track.
"In the end, they were only denied by two outstanding young Liverpool talents who showed Klopp can count on the exuberance and style of youth beyond his established stars."
Alexander Isak's 'dream' debut
The Mirror praised Alexander Isak on his 'dream' debut. Their sports reporter Freddie Keighley wrote: "In the absence of many regular Newcastle starters, the spotlight was firmly fixed on club-record signing Alexander Isak, who was making his first Magpies appearance following his £58million arrival from Real Sociedad.
"The towering striker had a fairly innocuous first half an hour in black and white, firing high and wide from the edge of the area in the 11th minute before he was later cleaned out by Alisson during a foot race with Joe Gomez. But Isak showed Newcastle he has that gift so treasured by fans and managers alike - an eye for goal - when a clear-cut chance presented itself.
"Sean Longstaff collected the ball from Jordan Henderson's prodded clearance in the Liverpool third and fed the ball to his new teammate. Showing composure and awareness, Isak allowed the ball to roll across him before rifling high into the net, leaving Alisson with no chance.
"The 22-year-old almost doubled his tally and his team's lead shortly after the interval, too, after bursting into the Liverpool third, leaving two defenders in his wake and powerfully firing past Alisson. Fortunately for the Reds, the linesman's flag went up and VAR confirmed Isak was indeed offside by the finest of margins."
Liverpool defeat a 'punch in the guts' for Howe
Dave Kidd of the Sun wrote: "And while defeat was a real punch in the guts for Eddie Howe, he will have been heartened by such a fighting display against elite opposition, with three key attacking players out injured for the visitors.
"Liverpool may have equalled the Premier League scoring record with Saturday’s shooting-fish-in-a-barrel exercise against Bournemouth - and the Reds also have a lengthy injury list of their own. But they struggled here against a side determined to shake the old order with their influx of Middle Eastern oil cash.
"After the Saudis made a relatively modest start in the transfer market, the signing of Isak felt like the start of the heavy artillery bombardment on the status of the Big Six. But it is one thing to have stupid money to spend, quite another to spend it wisely."
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