Liverpool somehow salvaged a point at St James’ Park on Sunday, thanks to a late penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai (£7.0m).
Here are our Scout Notes from the game.
- READ MORE: FPL Gameweek 1: Sunday’s goals, assists, bonus + DefCon points
- READ MORE: FPL notes: De Cuyper + Hinshelwood haul, Villa injury latest
SZOBOSZLAI PEN
Szoboszlai, not Alexander Isak (£9.0m), smashed in a late penalty to rescue a draw for Liverpool.
Buried into the top corner, the £7.0m midfielder really couldn’t have placed his spot-kick any better.
“I was practising a lot in the pre-season, obviously we didn’t have any [penalties during the friendly games], but in training, so thanks to the second and third goalies to be there for me.” – Dominik Szoboszlai
A pressure penalty – have we got our answer about who steps up from 12 yards after Mohamed Salah’s departure?
Or was Isak perhaps spared the pressure on his return to St James’ Park?
Andoni Iraola later said…
“I think we have not only Dom [Szoboszlai] and Alexander [Isak] – we have more very good specialists. Alexis [Mac Allister] also was on the pitch and he’s a very good penalty-taker, Cody [Gakpo] – we have a lot. But I think Dom showed the level. It’s an almost impossible penalty to stop.” – Andoni Iraola
“Yeah, obviously we were all nervous but it was an incredible penalty. Top corner with the speed that he produces on the ball, I think it’s almost impossible to stop it.
Looks like, looks like [when asked if Szoboszlai is going to be the main penalty taker], but it’s not just one maybe I trust a lot themselves no and we have some specialists, some very good specialists, so sometimes they will be the ones deciding. If Dom doesn’t see himself in that moment I think we have good specialists here.” – Andoni Iraola, via beIN Sports
Decisive from the spot, Szoboszlai also had complete control over Liverpool’s set plays, taking all of the Reds’ corners and free-kicks.
Prior to his late equaliser, Cody Gakpo (£7.0m) found the bottom corner with a lovely drilled finish from outside the box.
The Dutchman racked up six shots on Sunday, the most of any player in Gameweek 1 so far, and later hit the defensive contribution (DefCon) threshold to total 12 points.
Above: Players sorted by shots in Gameweek 1, via our Stats Centre Page
ISAK + WIRTZ POOR
On his return to St James’ Park, Isak didn’t really show up.
Liverpool had 27 shots in this match, with the Sweden international involved in five of them either as the shot taker or creator.
But in front of a hostile crowd, it was a game of frustration for the most part, with a header blocked and an effort blazed over the bar from just inside the box.
“I think he expected a little bit the atmosphere, I don’t think [it] has been a big surprise for him. I think he has tried everything, has given us good positions on the ball. [He] probably has had a couple of situations to finish inside the box, but probably not the clearest that he wanted or we wanted, but I value that. He has continued pushing on in the game, fighting, and I think it’s a good step for Alex for being the first game.” – Andoni Iraola on Alexander Isak
Florian Wirtz (£7.5m), who played as part of a front two with Isak, was equally poor and hooked just after the hour mark, although he was denied by a decent early save from Lukas Hornicek (£5.0m).
Others in red disappointed, too, including both full-backs and Rio Ngumoha (£6.0m), who didn’t look comfortable at all down the right flank. His replacement, Victor Munoz (£6.0m), fared better and won the late penalty.
Defensively, Liverpool didn’t fill you with much confidence, but Jeremy Jacquet (£5.0m) generally did well before his removal in the 70th minute.
“Jeremy [Jacquet] hasn’t done a proper pre-season, so it was kind of expected he didn’t finish the game.
“All the substitutes gave us energy. We need it because it’s difficult to last the full 90 minutes with the same players the way we want to play. Players coming off the bench can affect the game.” – Andoni Iraola
WISSA SUPERB
Although they dropped two points late on, this was a really positive performance from Newcastle under new boss Matthias Jaissle.
Anthony Elanga (£6.0m) and substitute Joe Willock (£5.0m) got the goals, but Yoane Wissa (£6.0m) was the clear standout performer.
Yes, he missed a couple of big chances, but he linked up very well with Will Osula (£6.0m) from a No 10 role (see image below), looked sharp throughout and carried the ball superbly to set up Willock’s strike.
“With the new role he’s given me it’s given me a lot of confidence. I’m one of the leaders so I need to back him. Because on the pitch you can’t always hear him so I need to make sure the guys are on alert.
“The manager expects me to be a leader and lead the group. He wants me to be winning balls, making sure everyone is going forward, going for the kill, and sometimes just be calm. He wants me to keep up the energy. He wants a lot of energy and that’s the role he gave to me and I am very happy.” – Yoane Wissa on Matthias Jaissle
On this evidence, Wissa will cause plenty of problems for Tottenham Hotspur next weekend.
Indeed, both Newcastle goals on Sunday came from fast breaks, so Spurs will need to be really switched on to balls played in behind.
Elsewhere, Hornicek and Amar Dedic (£4.5m) both looked solid at the back.
Lewis Miley (£5.5m) impressed in the middle of the park, too, particularly after a limited pre-season.
BURN INJURY
Newcastle captain Dan Burn (£5.0m) is set to miss the next few weeks with an ankle injury suffered in training.
The England international had been in contention to face Liverpool but was spotted arriving at St James’ Park on crutches and wearing a protective boot.
A quick word on Osula, too.
He seemed to be struggling after a collision but battled on before finally coming off in the 56th minute.
We haven’t spotted an update thus far, although Newcastle play West Bromwich Albion in the EFL Cup in midweek, so we might hear something in Jaissle’s pre-match presser.
