Newcastle United kicked off their Premier League campaign with a 2-2 draw against Andoni Iraola’s Liverpool at St. James’ Park on Sunday evening.
A late penalty from Dominik Szoboszlai denied Matthias Jaissle a win in his first competitive match in charge, after the home side twice took the lead through Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock.
Unfortunately, though, they only came away with one point after all of their hard work in front of their own fans, because of an unfortunate moment in stoppage time.
Lewis Hall’s foul on Victor Munoz gave the referee a decision to make and presented Szoboszlai with the chance to equalise with a sublime spot-kick.
Why Lewis Hall does not deserve criticism after Newcastle’s draw
Most players who give a penalty away that costs their side points in stoppage time would be expected to recieve plenty of criticism from supporters and pundits, but that should not be the case for the left-back.
95 minutes into the match, Hall was a tired defender up against a fresh Munoz, who had been substituted on, and the World Cup winner was simply too quick and created the knee on knee contact, and there was very little at the defender could have done to prevent it.
In the 94 minutes leading up to that penalty concession, though, the England international had been almost faultless for the Magpies with his performance at the back.
|
Vs Liverpool |
Lewis Hall |
|---|---|
|
Defensive contributions |
11 |
|
Tackles |
3 |
|
Interceptions |
2 |
|
Ball recoveries |
8 |
|
Dribbled past |
0x |
|
Penalties committed |
1 |
|
Key passes |
1 |
|
Big chances created |
1 |
The left-footed defender offered a threat going forward, creating one of the side’s three ‘big chances’, and was not dribbled past a single time prior to Munoz forcing a penalty out of him.
Hall, therefore, should not face too much criticism because he was a big reason why Newcastle had the lead to begin with, due to his impressive play on and off the ball.
Newcastle player who was worse than Hall has forced them to spend
Whilst the left-back does not deserve to be criticised, one of Newcastle’s players delivered a performance that proved why the club have to go out and splash the cash again before the end of the window.
Summer signing Sean Steur was selected to make his Premier League debut from the start alongside Lewis Miley in the middle of the park after his move from Dutch giants Ajax.
It was clear to see from very early on in the match that he has the technical capacity to play in the division, as he received the ball well under pressure and passed forward to start attacks for the team.
However, his work out of possession left a lot to be desired and his display in the middle of the park may have forced the board to press ahead with a deal for one of their targets.
In 56 minutes on the pitch, the Dutchman lost 100% of his duels and did not make a single tackle, interception, block, or clearance for the Magpies, whilst only recovering the ball twice.
His disappointing play defensively hurt Newcastle for Liverpool’s first equalising goal, as he was slow to go out and close down Cody Gakpo, who scored from distance to make it 1-1.
|
Rating Newcastle’s starters against Liverpool |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Rating |
|
Lukas Hornicek |
7.5 |
|
Amar Dedic |
6 |
|
Malick Thiaw |
5 |
|
Sven Botman |
6 |
|
Lewis Hall |
6 |
|
Sean Steur |
4 |
|
Lewis Miley |
7 |
|
Anthony Elanga |
7.5 |
|
Yoane Wissa |
8 |
|
Harvey Barnes |
5 |
|
Will Osula |
7 |
Central midfielders in the Premier League need to be mobile and physical to deal with the strength and intensity that opposition teams play with, and Newcastle had mobility and physicality in abundance with Sandro Tonali and Bruno Guimaraes.
Steur’s debut suggests that he may not be ready for the out of possession requirements, despite looking up to the task in possession, and that may force the Magpies to spend £34m on Nico Gonzalez.
Newcastle recently made contact with Manchester City to explore a deal for the Spaniard, who is valued at £34m, but they have yet to make an offer for the midfielder.
Steur’s display against Liverpool may force the club to make a move for the Cityzens outcast, because he has proven that he has the physicality to play in a midfield two in the Premier League.
The 24-year-old powerhouse won 56% of his ground duels and 54% of his aerial duels in the Premier League for City last term, whilst averaging 2.7 tackles and interceptions and 3.6 ball recoveries per match.
Newcastle may need more steel in their midfield, as it looked too lightweight with Steur in a double pivot, and signing Gonzalez would provide the Dutchman with more time to ease into a starring role, giving him the space he needs to develop that side of his game.
