Liverpool's Draw at Newcastle Highlights Structural Issues
Liverpool escaped from Tyneside with a point and a pulse, but not much peace of mind.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s thunderous 99th-minute penalty snatched a 2-2 draw at Newcastle United and spared Andoni Iraola from opening his Liverpool reign with defeat at St James’ Park. The late drama masked a performance riddled with structural problems, repeatedly exposed by Newcastle’s counter-attacks.
Anthony Elanga needed just five minutes to slice Liverpool open on the break and put the hosts ahead. Cody Gakpo briefly hauled the visitors level with a driven strike from distance, only for Joe Willock to restore Newcastle’s lead almost immediately, punishing another transition that Liverpool failed to manage.
Only deep into stoppage time did the visitors salvage something. Substitute Victor Munoz drew a clumsy foul from Lewis Hall in the box, and Szoboszlai stepped up, smashing his spot-kick high and emphatically past the keeper. The roar from the away end told its own story. Relief, not satisfaction.
Strip away the late heroics, though, and the issues are glaring. This is a team that looks one or two injuries away from crisis in several key areas. With the transfer window ticking towards the September 1 deadline, Liverpool’s recruitment team have work to do.
Right-back: Upgrade required
Jeremie Frimpong has now had a full year at Anfield. His most eye-catching moments still come in the final third. That is a problem.
His pace offers an outlet going forward, but at St James’ Park his defensive shortcomings were brutally laid bare. Positioning, one-v-one duels, delivery from wide areas – none of it convinced. His crossing in particular was wasteful, killing promising situations and inviting pressure back the other way.
As a rotation option, he has value. At home, against deep-lying opponents who sit in and allow Liverpool to dominate the ball, Frimpong can function as an attacking right-back or even a makeshift right winger. On the road, in hostile environments where the game stretches and opponents counter at speed, he looks a liability. This match underlined that in bold.
With Conor Bradley sidelined for months and Joe Gomez so often unavailable, Liverpool are carrying too much risk in a position that underpins the entire defensive structure. An upgrade at right-back is no longer a luxury. It is a necessity.
Left-back: A growing worry
The hope around Kirkby was that Iraola’s arrival would unlock Milos Kerkez, sharpening his raw tools and turning him into a long-term solution on the left. If this display is a sign of what is to come, that optimism will not last long.
Kerkez struggled, and when he did, there was little sense that the safety net behind him is strong enough. Kostas Tsimikas remains the main deputy, but the reality is clear: he has never consistently shown the level required to be a genuine starter for Liverpool. He can fill in. He does not truly push the man ahead of him.
That dynamic is dangerous. Kerkez needs pressure from a seasoned, composed left-back who can step in without the performance level dropping. Right now, Iraola does not have that. Selling Tsimikas and bringing in a more experienced, calmer presence who can both compete and guide Kerkez would significantly steady that flank.
You could make a strong case Liverpool should never have allowed Andy Robertson to leave. That decision now looms large.
Midfield anchor: The missing piece
The most alarming sight on Tyneside came before either full-back. On Newcastle’s opening goal, the two furthest forward Liverpool players were Ryan Gravenberch and Szoboszlai – the supposed midfield pivot.
A double pivot of those two is an invitation to chaos. Both are talented, both want to drive forward, both prefer to impact the game in advanced areas. Neither is a natural destroyer. When the ball turned over, the gaps behind them were vast, and Newcastle poured into them.
Szoboszlai presses willingly, but his game is built on aggression and forward momentum, not the positional discipline required to lock down transitions in a two-man midfield. Gravenberch’s off-the-ball awareness and passing under pressure remain inconsistent. Put them together at the base of midfield and Liverpool will continue to concede counter-attacking goals.
The squad is short of a true defensive midfielder who can cover ground, sense danger early and win the ball back repeatedly. That profile simply does not exist in Iraola’s current options. Brentford’s Ibrahim Sangare would have fit that brief perfectly; with him off the table, Monaco’s Lamine Camara stands out as an alternative who could still reshape the spine.
Without that kind of signing, Liverpool’s attacking flair will keep being undercut by a soft centre.
Right wing: Out of balance
Up front, the problem is different but just as clear. Rio Ngumoha is a gifted teenager with huge potential, but he is not a right winger. That was obvious again.
Stationed on the right, he struggled to influence the game. No completed dribbles. Only one touch in the Newcastle box. A single shot, blocked. For a player whose greatest strength is cutting inside from the left onto his stronger right foot and driving directly at defenders, this role blunts his weapons.
On the opposite flank, Liverpool need something very specific: a left-footed attacker who can come inside, threaten the goal, and still provide width when required. A mirror to balance the front line. Ngumoha does not fit that bill on the right, and it is unfair to expect him to grow into a role that does not suit his natural game.
Yankuba Minteh ticks many of those boxes and is realistically attainable before the deadline, but his fitness situation complicates matters. He is not expected to be available until at least October, which leaves a gap at the start of a season that is already asking serious questions of this squad.
The late point at St James’ Park buys Liverpool time in the table. It does not buy them time in the market. With the clock ticking towards September 1, the question is simple: will they move decisively to fix these fault lines, or spend another season living on the edge?
