Newcastle United lost their way when Anthony Gordon was taken off against Liverpool, but it was not the only change that led to the Magpies’ demise according to Alan Shearer.
Eddie Howe’s decision to take off Gordon in the second half has received widespread criticism, as the 22-year-old was having a sensational game. He was running Liverpool ragged on Sunday, and it was a real surprise to see him get taken off.
However, Shearer thinks that another substitution proved to be detrimental to the Magpies.
After Darwin Nunez’s equaliser, Howe decided to take Joelinton off in the 82nd minute. He was replaced by Elliot Anderson, who had been in contention to start against the Reds.
Just over 10 minutes later Nunez scored again to break Newcastle hearts, and Shearer has explained what went wrong after Howe replaced Joelinton with Anderson.
Shearer thinks Newcastle were ‘sloppy’ after Joelinton went off
Shearer has spoke about the Newcastle midfield against Liverpool on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast and looked at what changed once Joelinton came off.
“Normally that midfield, we said how good it was – Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton – in the first game against Aston Villa,” he said.
“But when Joelinton went off, they lost a bit of that fight and they went really sloppy. They invited Liverpool on.
“Some great substitutions by Jurgen Klopp. He brought Harvey Elliot on, he brought Diogo Jota on. They then got a grip of the game, got people running in behind. Then Nunez came on and his two finishes were out of this world.”
Newcastle substitutes must deliver
Howe’s changes backfired on Sunday, as Newcastle lost control of a game that they should have easily won.
Game management is so key at this level, yet the Magpies got it all wrong. Our composure needed to shine through in the latter stages. We needed to keep the ball and run down the clock.
But we were unable to do that, and Shearer believes that the issue was taking Joelinton off. The Brazilian is a key player for Howe, and was much better suited to the situation compared to Anderson. While he is an exciting talent, he is someone you want to turn to when you are looking for a goal, not defending a lead.
It is food for thought for Howe, who will be relying on his bench more and more this season, especially when the Champions League begins next month.
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