Liverpool’s midfield masterclass puts them on brink of Premier League title | OneFootball

Thirteen may be unlucky for some but surely not even misfortune can stop Liverpool now. As Arsenal stumbled, the leaders took another sizeable step towards the title. Thirteen points clear of their closest challengers after Newcastle’s annual defeat at Anfield, it is a question of when, not if.

A chorus of “Liverpool, top of the league,” followed the final whistle at Anfield, leading to another of “We’re going to win the league.” That looks a formality. It is already a mathematical certainty they will finish above Manchester United.

And when Liverpool are crowned champions, they can thank Jurgen Klopp and Jorg Schmadtke for their work in the summer of 2023. This was a win shaped by that transfer window, by the inspired midfield rebuild. As he did against Manchester City on Sunday, Dominik Szoboszlai scored. Alexis Mac Allister, whose sense of occasion meant he found the net against Real Madrid and in a Merseyside derby, added a second. Liverpool didn’t have a Mohamed Salah goal, even if, for the 17th time this season, the Egyptian registered an assist. Newcastle didn’t have Alexander Isak. Liverpool’s supporting cast supplied the finishing touch and, on a night when Newcastle had no shots on target, Arne Slot’s side scored at least twice for the 18th consecutive game at Anfield.

Slot saw it from on high, rising from the posh seats of the directors’ box to punch the air when Mac Allister put the outcome beyond doubt. He began a two-match touchline ban. His red card at Goodison Park can be added to the list of things that, it transpires, will not derail Liverpool’s title charge.

They have shown a calmness under pressure in the last few days. They scored from their first two shots on target at the Etihad Stadium. They repeated that feat on home turf.

Their 100th goal of the season was a second in four days for the in-form Szoboszlai, guided between Dan Burn’s legs, after Luis Diaz’s cutback. In September, Slot said Szoboszlai’s numbers needed to go up. The criticism was that, for a No 10 at a club like Liverpool, the Hungarian did not score enough; now he has four goals in eight games, some against high-calibre opponents. He nearly had a fifth, curling a shot from the edge of the box just past the post.

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Dominik Szoboszlai scored his second goal in as many games to send Liverpool ahead (Peter Byrne/PA Wire)

His provider had an influence, too. Diaz has looked more dangerous after moving back to the left; the Colombian’s time as a striker seemed to have run its course and he felt liberated in the open space of the flanks. Back in the central role after Diogo Jota went off, a stretching Diaz almost added a third from Salah’s outside-of-the-boot cross.

But as, for the first time in nine games, Salah failed to score, there were still moments when he was irresistible. Jacob Murphy was booked for tugging him back; but only after the Egyptian, desperate to continue a solo run, had escaped his first attempts to drag him down. Deservedly, Salah still made a goal. In a one-two, he returned the ball to Mac Allister, whose rising shot flew past Nick Pope. If the goalkeeper perhaps could have done better for the opener, he was blameless for the second.

At the other end of the pitch, Newcastle were without a talisman, a slight groin problem sidelining Isak. It may not escape attention that this week Liverpool have faced City without Erling Haaland and Newcastle without the Swede, arguably the division’s two top strikers. Yet they have scarcely needed such things to go in their favour.

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Alexis Mac Allister doubled Liverpool's lead and gave them a cushion to defend (REUTERS)

Newcastle, though, might note that Isak had scored on both of his previous visits to Anfield. As Callum Wilson made his belated first league start of the season, he perhaps should have struck when racing on to a ball Dan Burn hooked forward, instead missing the target. In a game of transitions, with Wilson playing on the shoulder of the last defender, Newcastle had a threat on the break. Yet Alisson was untested; that may have been different with a fit Isak.

Another change was by choice. Beaten 4-0 at Manchester City, Newcastle came to another of their bogey grounds. Eddie Howe’s search for solidity brought a tweak in tactics, to 4-4-1-1, but they were a goal down after 10 minutes and using Anthony Gordon as a No 10 may have cost them some penetration on the flanks. A rare quadruple change may have been an indication of Howe’s dissatisfaction.

And this may have boded badly for one of the biggest games Newcastle have had for decades. As a dress rehearsal for the Carabao Cup final, it was scarcely encouraging. Newcastle’s winless run at Anfield extended to 29 trips. Howe’s record against Liverpool as their manager now contains a solitary point from a possible 24. And the two Liverpool dropped in the 3-3 draw on Tyneside in December now instead looks a point they gained. One of the extra 13.