Jan Molby: Liverpool, Isak, Europe and Arsenal
Where I See It All Right Now
Hard to Watch at St. James’
I was at the Newcastle game. People called it dramatic. I called it horrible. There wasn’t a lot of football being played and I thought we were second best for long periods.
I said it on commentary and I’ll say it again. When we went 2-0 up against ten men, I couldn’t believe we didn’t just park ourselves in their half and pass them to death. We had the spare man, we had the momentum, and yet we booted it long, gave the ball away, and looked scared to play through their midfield. I thought we looked bullied.
From around the 50th minute until our winning goal, Liverpool created 0.00 xG. Zero. Not a single threat on goal. I’m not one for stats but that tells the whole story.
Virgil van Dijk was a colossus. Alisson and Szoboszlai did well. Ekitike was decent. But the rest? Not many can be happy with their night’s work. We were lucky. That’s the truth. And we were lucky the VAR officials were decent too, because I’ve seen some absolute nonsense from certain Geordie voices since the match.
When 11 minutes went up on the board, Newcastle fans were cheering. They thought they’d win it. I thought they would too. But Rio Ngumoha came on and buried his chance like a lad who knew he was going to score. That’s what impressed me most. He looked like someone who thought, “This is what I do.”
Still, I was shocked we even put him on. We were getting battered; it was a physical war, and we threw on Harvey Elliott and Rio. That was bold from Arne Slot. Fair play. It paid off.
Florian Wirtz is a different matter. He’s clearly a talented boy, but right now it’s happening too fast for him. He’s being forced to play in the tightest, most physical spaces in world football and it’s not clicking yet. It will, but he’s struggling. The Premier League is no joke.
As for Szoboszlai at right-back, he did well. I wouldn’t call him a solution there. He’s all action, high tempo, and that’s his strength. Calm passers like Alonso or Trent are different types. But if Bradley or Gomez aren’t ready, he might have to do it again on Sunday.
Isak Situation Nearing Breaking Point
We’ve been here for weeks, talking about Alexander Isak, and it finally feels like something’s shifting. Newcastle have agreed a deal for Nick Woltemade. That’s a big step.