Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp appeared to have a slight dig at Newcastle United’s approach to their narrow 3-2 defeat against the Reds at St James’ Park on Saturday.
The win for Liverpool allowed them to once again move above Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table, before City play Leicester City on Monday, but it was hard fought against a Newcastle side who twice came from behind to put pressure on Klopp’s side.
In a report from The Shields Gazette following the game Klopp said: “The style of play of Newcastle is not really to defend with tactical moves, it is just a long ball.”
The German added: “Rondon is fighting for it and then you wait for the decision of the ref, foul or no foul. If it’s no foul you have to carry on and if it is a foul, it is a free-kick in either direction.”
“That means you cannot do it with a proper formation, you have to do it with legs, with runs and stuff like that – and that makes it even more intense, that’s why it makes sense to keep the ball. That’s what we tried a lot of times, we did it really well in a lot of moments.”
OPINION
Although, Jurgen Klopp’s comments about Newcastle’s style of play following his sides crucial win at St James’ Park on Saturday, appear to be a little harsh on Rafa Benitez’s side Newcastle should take great enthusiasm from them. They demonstrate that Newcastle achieved exactly what Benitez would have sent his side out to do, which would have been to make life very difficult for a Liverpool side under pressure. In order to make life difficult for the Reds, Newcastle needed to utilise the strength of Salomon Rondon up front to hold the ball up and run the channels, so that his team-mates could get up the pitch and support him. That tactic paid off in the sense that it allowed Newcastle to twice recover from falling behind and force Liverpool to have to dig out a potentially crucial victory, rather than the comfortable win they would have liked under the circumstances of the title battle. Newcastle have already beaten Manchester City at home this season, and they will be hopeful of making life difficult for more of the Premier League’s top six sides next season.
