Milos Kerkez Faces Tough Test at St James’ Park
Milos Kerkez felt it from both sides at St James’ Park. From the dugout. From his own captain. And from Newcastle’s runners who never stopped testing him.
The 22-year-old, now Liverpool’s clear first-choice left-back after Andy Robertson’s summer move to Tottenham Hotspur, endured a bruising afternoon in the 2-2 draw on Tyneside – the kind that strips away early-season comfort and exposes the learning curve beneath.
Early blow on Kerkez’s flank
The tone was set inside five minutes. Anthony Elanga went at Kerkez, burned past him down the right and helped carve out Newcastle’s opener. The Hungarian never quite recovered his composure from that moment, caught between trying to atone defensively and forcing an impact going the other way.
His display drew criticism from Liverpool Echo reporter Ian Doyle, who highlighted a series of shaky moments on that left side. They weren’t just noticed in the press box. They were noticed, loudly, on the pitch.
Iraola erupts, Van Dijk steps in
Doyle detailed two flashpoints that summed up Kerkez’s afternoon.
On one occasion, Andoni Iraola’s frustration boiled over as his left-back “took an eternity” to close down Elanga, eventually conceding a corner. The Basque coach, usually animated but controlled, was described as struggling to keep his emotions in check, gesturing furiously on the touchline and leaving no doubt about his anger.
Later, Virgil van Dijk delivered his own verdict in real time. During a Newcastle break down Kerkez’s side, the Liverpool captain felt his full-back was too slow to engage the attacker. Van Dijk surged across to snuff out the danger himself, then let Kerkez know exactly what he thought. No histrionics, just a sharp rebuke from a leader who demands higher standards.
Moments like that happen every week in the Premier League. But when they come twice in one game, from both coach and captain, they paint a clear picture.
Numbers decent, performance mixed
This was, undeniably, a tough day at the office for Kerkez.
Defensively, he switched off at key times and allowed Newcastle too much joy down his flank. When he did push forward, he squandered a couple of promising situations, the final ball lacking the precision Liverpool needed.
The underlying data offers a softer lens. According to Sofascore, Kerkez won six duels, made seven defensive contributions and three tackles, while also registering one shot on target and one key pass. On paper, that’s not the profile of a disaster.
But football isn’t played on spreadsheets. In the key moments – the ones that define how a performance feels to teammates, coaches and supporters – Kerkez fell short of the level Liverpool now require from their starting left-back.
Response time at Anfield
The context matters. This is his first season as Liverpool’s nailed-on option on the left, stepping into a role Robertson defined for years. There will be scrutiny. There will be days like this.
What Iraola needs now is a reaction.
Nottingham Forest visit Anfield next Saturday, with Kerkez likely to go head-to-head with Ola Aina in Oliver Glasner’s wing-back system. It’s exactly the kind of tactical battle that will test his positioning, his timing in the press and his decision-making in transition.
His start to the campaign has been far from flawless, but the shirt is still his. The question is simple: does he turn a chastening afternoon at St James’ Park into a turning point, or a warning he fails to heed?
