Final Premier League matches difficulty for Newcastle United – Truth about Liverpool | OneFootball

Newcastle United travelled to Liverpool on Wednesday night.

Approaching the game at Anfield, Eddie Howe and his team with 12 games remaining in the Premier League.

The third PL game in a tough league run.

A trio of Premier League matches that saw United facing Man City away, Forest at home and Liverpool away.

Any defeat for Newcastle United I find difficult to take.

When I say difficult to take, I mean I just hate Newcastle United losing to anybody.

It doesn’t mean though that I can’t accept at the same time that this was always going to be the most likely outcome and no matter what Eddie Howe and his players did, the chances were that Liverpool would still find a way to win, because they have been very good and ultra consistent all season at a very high level.

However, I have read and heard some pretty strange comments from certain Newcastle United fans.

Indeed, I had to double check.

Yes, NUFC were indeed away to the champions-elect, the favourites for the Champions League, a team with their very best eleven on the pitch against a team missing some of its very best players.

Apparently for some though, it was seemingly a disgrace that Newcastle United didn’t d better, didn’t at least avoid defeat.

Giving this some perspective, a couple of weeks ago I looked at what was then the remaining 14 Premier League matches of Newcastle’s season, in terms of most difficult down to most winnable:

Liverpool (A)

Man City (A)

Arsenal (A)

Brighton (A)

Villa (A)

Forest (H)

Chelsea (H)

West Ham (A)

Brentford (H)

Palace (H)

Everton (H)

Man U (H)

Leicester (A)

Ipswich (H)

This to me is the reality, the truth.

Yet for some Newcastle United fans it is as though this table of difficulty had been turned upside down. As though Man City and Liverpool away, were actually Ipswich at home and Leicester away.

By some distance, I saw Man City and Liverpool away, as easily the toughest two Premier League matches that Newcastle United had left to play. Indeed, the toughest two games of our entire season.

When looking a couple of weeks ago, our season rested massively on what happened/happens in those bottom nine Premier League matches in my list.

To finish in a top five place for Champions League qualification, I reckoned the two very most important matches were to defeat both Forest and Chelsea at St James’ Park. One of those now ticked off and the other to come. I think for Champions League qualification, Newcastle will definitely need to finish ahead of one of these two teams, potentially both of them.

Then when I look at the rest of the games in the last 14, I’d wrote off Liverpool and Man City away. As in, any point we got from this pair of matches would have been an unbelievably huge bonus.

The reality is that you need to start at the other end, those games against relegation-bound Ipswich and Leicester are the absolute must wins. Victories over that pair and Chelsea, with Forest already defeated, takes us to 53 points, with eight other games to play and try to get the necessary points.

Last season it was 66 points to get fifth (and 68 points for fourth).

For 66 points, assuming Newcastle beat Chelsea, Ipswich and Leicester, it would then need from the other eight games, four wins and a draw.

Can we get 13+ points from West Ham (A), Brentford (H), Palace (H), Everton (H) and Man U (H)? For sure we can. Reality is as well, these are five teams that can’t be relegated but at the same time, have nothing really to play for in the Premier League in terms of competing for Europe.

The other three remaining matches are Villa (A), Brighton (A) and Arsenal (A). None of those are easy matches BUT for me, far less daunting than Liverpool and Man City away. They are matches where I expect to get some points from overall, certainly I would be disappointed if at least not two or three points, a couple of draws as a minimum.

A case for me of a reality, where you can’t win every single battle, unless you are the very dominant team. Even Liverpool aren’t really that, not like say Man City have been in recent seasons, however, the scousers are clearly the best team this season .

So for me, a case of not necessarily needing to win every battle, but having the ability to win enough of them that equals winning the (Champions League qualification) war.

Liverpool 2 Newcastle 0 – Wednesday 26 February 2025 8.15pm

(Stats via BBC Sport)

Goals:

Newcastle United:

Liverpool:

Szoboszlai 11, Mac Allister 63

Possession was Newcastle 39% Liverpool 61%

Total shots were Newcastle 3 Liverpool 12

Shots on target were Newcastle 0 Liverpool 3

Corners were Newcastle 2 Liverpool 4

Touches in the box Newcastle 16 Liverpool 29

Newcastle team v Liverpool:

Pope, Livramento (Trippier 69), Schar, Burn, Hall, Bruno (Longstaff 88), Tonali (Miley 69), Willock (Barnes 68), Gordon, Wilson (Osula 69), Murphy

Subs:

Dubravka, Ruddy, Krafth, Targett

(Match Report – Nothing to get upset about – Liverpool 2 Newcastle 0 – Read HERE)

(Liverpool 2 Newcastle 0 – Instant Newcastle United fan/writer reaction – Read HERE)