Liverpool were unconvincing for much of their 2-2 draw away to Newcastle on Sunday, but one Reds player came in for praise for his ‘powerful’ performance at St James’ Park.
Andoni Iraola’s team were on the verge of falling to defeat in his first official game as LFC head coach, but Dominik Szoboszlai converted a penalty deep into stoppage time to rescue a point for the visitors.
The manner of the two Magpies goals met with fury from Jamie Carragher on social media as he bemoaned how easily Liverpool’s midfield was played through, particularly for Anthony Elanga’s early opener.
Pat Nevin praises Araujo’s debut performance for Liverpool
Two players came on for their official Reds debuts this afternoon, with Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo both summoned off the bench, and Pat Nevin was impressed by what he saw from the Uruguayan defender.
The former Chelsea winger said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “There wasn’t a great deal in it but you can see the weaknesses that Liverpool had last season have not gone away. The defence doesn’t look quite there.
“I would say Ronald Araujo came on and looked quite impressive. very, very powerful and very, very strong. He might be a massive part of the answer.”
A positive Liverpool debut for Araujo
It wasn’t the best of days for the Reds’ defence as a collective, with Ian Doyle quite critical of the performances of full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, but Araujo can be pleased with his contribution after coming on for fellow debutant Jeremy Jacquet in the 70th minute.
The aforementioned Doyle wrote (via Liverpool Echo) that the loanee from Barcelona was ‘solid’ on his first Premier League appearane, also highlighting his long-throw threat, and the 27-year-old’s match statistics (via Sofascore) also paint a positive picture.
| Passes completed | 26/29 (90%) |
| Duels won | 4 |
| Possession lost | 3 (from 35 touches) |
| Clearances | 2 |
| Blocks | 1 |
| Tackles | 1 |
Whether the Uruguayan’s performance today will be enough to get him into the starting XI for the Nottingham Forest game next Saturday is debatable, as Jacquet also gave a good account of himself at St James’ Park this afternoon.
Araujo comes to Liverpool with a wealth of elite-level experience from his time at Camp Nou, and although many players struggle to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League, he appears to have the requisite physicality to succeed in this division.
It’s very early days yet, of course, but this was a positive first competitive showing from our new number 33, who looks like he could be a vital presence in the Reds’ squad over the next few months.
Our central defenders must be the most exposed in the premier league. Proof of that again today where players have the freedom of the pitch to just run straight through a non existent midfield to get at the defence.,
We are so easy to score against. A few long balls on the counter attack and it’s a goal.
Has iraola got the ball’s to sort it out. There’s a solution, and the solution is to drop wirtz.
Go back to the three in midfield that won the league under slot, with gravenberch in a disciplined role protecting the defence with Szoboszlai and Alexis mac allister further forward.
The current system of 4231 and the midfield to accommodate wirtz is not good enough.
Go and look at those two goals conceded today and tell me I’m wrong. Every other premier league team know we are vulnerable to the counter attack with our midfield. There’s worse to come unless there’s change.,
Does iraola have the guts to drop wirtz.
We are in need of a proper number 6. We have never replaced Fabinho, simple as that. Until that day comes then we will always concede on the counter. Frimpong and Kerkez both need to be able to cross a ball, then comes Flo looking well p….. off. First game and worried already.
Exactly. Remove Wirtz, start Mac Allister and our midfield will be better. Bring on Wirtz if we are desperate to score. Another thing I don’t know is how we let Robbo go.
Dropping Witz isn’t the solution- getting a true no.6 is. Szobo is 8 and Witz is 10. Macca also 10. The issue here is Grav is playing more as a hybrid 6/8. There is that boy from Fluminence who won Copa Liberators, he is a true no.6. FSG wtf.
I feel worse is the problem. There is no balance in the midfield. A traditional 6 is what Liverpool need, as this will allow Grav and Szobo to reach their full potential. Liverpool never needed Wirtz. It’s a mistake that needs to be corrected
I think nyoni can do the job for us. Of course if we have the cash to splash, a proper DM is welcome.