Liverpool Fights Back for Draw Against Newcastle in Season Opener
Andoni Iraola walked off at St James’ Park with a point and a knot in his stomach. His side had clawed their way back twice in a wild opening-day draw, yet the Liverpool head coach could not quite shake the feeling of what might have been.
Newcastle struck first and struck early. Inside five minutes, Anthony Elanga pounced, punishing a Liverpool side that had barely settled. The start infuriated Iraola.
“We started the game the worst way we knew,” he told BBC after the final whistle. “Newcastle away, first game of the season, the atmosphere, they have very fast players and we concede the goal. They punished us and we had to go against the result.”
Liverpool did respond. Cody Gakpo dragged them level, only for Joe Willock to restore Newcastle’s advantage and tilt the contest back towards the hosts. Each time Iraola’s team looked ready to seize control, Newcastle landed another punch.
The visitors refused to fold. Dominik Szoboszlai found the second equaliser, capping a much-improved spell after the break, when Liverpool finally began to pin Newcastle back and dictate around the box.
“Once you concede the first goal, you need the game to go fast. You need things to happen when you’re losing,” Iraola said. “We could control the game in the second half. We had better possession around their box. When we scored, it looked like we were the team going to turn the game but then they scored again.”
The pattern was relentless: Newcastle surge, Liverpool chase. The physical toll showed. Iraola leaned hard on his bench as the tempo refused to drop.
“Jeremy hasn’t done a proper pre-season, so it was kind of expected that he didn’t finish the game,” he explained of Jeremy Jacquet. “All the substitutes gave us energy. We need it because it’s difficult to last the full 90 minutes with the same players the way we want to play. Players coming off the bench can affect the game.”
One of those changes, Victor Munoz, tilted the late drama Liverpool’s way. Munoz won the spot-kick that completed the comeback and left Newcastle deflated.
“Victor almost had another penalty but the referee whistled before conceding it but it was even more clear,” Iraola said. “So he has really affected the game.”
The manager summed it up as “a strange feeling.” Not the result he wanted. Not the performance he could accept for the opening five minutes. But a response, a show of resilience, and a reminder that this Liverpool side will not go quietly, even when 2-1 down in one of the most hostile grounds in the league.
