Newcastle dropped down to 17th on Saturday as they lost 3-1 to top of the league Liverpool at Anfield.
Steve Bruce’s side had the dream start as Jetro Willems fired in a sensational strike into the top corner to hand them the lead. The left-back took the ball in on the left before cutting in on his weaker right foot and finding the back of the net.
However, two goals from Sadio Mane and one from Mo Salah secured all three points for Liverpool as they produced an excellent attacking performance.
Newcastle have now won one of their first five games of the season, coming against Tottenham in the third matchweek. The losses came against Arsenal, Norwich and Liverpool, with Bruce’s team also drawing against Watford at St. James’ Park.
But, what did we learn from Newcastle’s defeat to Liverpool over the weekend? We have decided to take a look through four things they should learn from the match…
Krafth needs to be dropped
Krafth turned in another far from impressive performance as he struggled to deal with the quality of Liverpool’s attack. He failed to catch the eye with his defending or attacking, and it could be time for Javier Manquillo to come back in on the right.
Shelvey doesn't cut it
Sean Longstaff was a huge miss in midfield for Newcastle. Jonjo Shelvey came in and couldn’t keep up with the off the ball running of Liverpool’s midfielders, losing his man on far too many occasions. Against the better sides, Shelvey just doesn’t cut it.
Joelinton needs more support
Joelinton looked completely isolated throughout the game and struggled to make an impact for large spells of the match. The midfielders are not offering him enough support and it’s something that Bruce needs to address, as it has happened throughout the season so far.
Dubravka will always make mistakes
As good as Dubravka is, the past year has shown us that he will always be capable of making big errors in games. He spilled the ball from what looked like a routine save leading to the second goal, but also made some good stops.