Newcastle United fans around the world are waking up today wondering how Liverpool won that game yesterday but Ally McCoist has pinpointed a crucial moment.
Newcastle were in control of the game for so long yesterday and had several opportunities to put the tie to bed long before Darwin Nunez broke Geordie hearts.
Miguel Almiron hit the post and saw a bullet of a shot somehow saved by Allison which has to go up there as a save of the season contender.
Newcastle should have killed the game off before Nunez came on
However, possibly Newcastle’s biggest chance to kill the game off came late on when Harvey Barnes and Callum Wilson burst forward in a two-on-two situation. All Barnes needed to do was to slide the ball through for Wilson to finish, but instead he took a few extra touches and ran into trouble.
Barnes was able to ping a makeshift cross in but there was nothing the £20million former Bournemouth man could do with it.
Speaking on TalkSPORT this morning, Ally McCoist said that Wilson must have been fuming with Barnes in that moment saying: “Oh he’s got to man, if you’re Callum Wilson you’ll be livid.
It is time for Eddie Howe to shake things up?
“He’s absolutely well within his rights to be livid. I mean I like Harvey Barnes but he’s just got to take a touch and whip it in behind the defenders for Wilson to come onto it.”
That would have made it 2-0 and surely there’d have been no way back for Liverpool, no matter how strong that Witch’s curse they have on us is.
Eddie Howe needs to reevaluate his starting lineup after two straight defeats – granted they were both against top sides, but there’s a feeling that Newcastle have been found out and it’s now time for change. Harvey Barnes needs to start, even after that error yesterday, and it might be time to give Almiron a break.
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