27 shots, 2.98 xG and a penalty in the 99th minute: Iraola's first Liverpool side attack well, but two counter-attacks nearly cost them.
The numbers
| Liverpool | Newcastle United | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 60.8% | 39.2% |
| Shots | 27 | 13 |
| On target | 7 | 4 |
| xG | 2.98 | 1.58 |
| Corners | 6 | 2 |
| Pass accuracy | 84.1% | 75.8% |
Result the chances deserved: Liverpool 66% / 16% / Newcastle United 18% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Alisson, Frimpong, Jacquet, Van Dijk, Kerkez, Szoboszlai, Gravenberch, Ngumoha, Wirtz, Gakpo, Isak.
Newcastle United (4-2-3-1): Horníček, Dedić, Thiaw, Botman, Hall, Steur, Miley, Elanga, Wissa, Barnes, Osula.
Newcastle United subs: Willock (56', Steur), Ramsey (56', Osula), Murphy (75', Elanga), Bamba (75', Miley), Schär (90', Wissa). Newcastle manager: Matthias Jaissle, in his first competitive game. Line-ups and formations from FotMob and liverpoolfc.com. Newcastle's own report gives goal times one minute earlier (4', 54', 56'); some reports have Willock's goal at 58'.
Key moments, move by move
- Liverpool have men forward when Gravenberch's pass is cut out.
- Osula collects and drives over halfway. Van Dijk and Jacquet back off instead of stepping in.
- He lays it to Elanga, who has run into the space Kerkez left behind.
- Elanga controls and fires low past Alisson with his right foot.
- Liverpool start the second half faster, with Wirtz and Gakpo drifting across to drag Newcastle United's man-markers.
- Gravenberch finds Gakpo in a gap between the lines, about 20 yards out.
- Gakpo turns away from his marker.
- A low drive skids past Horníček into the bottom-left corner.
- Newcastle United break again, straight after Liverpool's equaliser.
- Wissa runs at Liverpool's back line as it retreats.
- He slips the ball to Willock, on the pitch for barely a minute, at the edge of the box.
- Willock bends it past Alisson from just outside the area.
- Deep in stoppage time, a ball into the box is knocked down.
- Substitute Muñoz reads the knockdown first and bursts into the area.
- Hall brings him down. The award stands after a long VAR check.
- Szoboszlai smashes the penalty into the top corner.
Five players ahead of the ball, two behind it
- Liverpool's attack worked. A 4-2-3-1 with Gravenberch between the lines, Jacquet breaking lines with his passing and Kerkez overlapping to make 2v1s against Dedić (Coaches' Voice). Liverpool had 27 shots, 36 touches in the box to Newcastle's 16, and 27 crosses (Sky Sports).
- The gap behind it. With both full-backs and the midfield pair ahead of the ball, Van Dijk and Jacquet were often left alone against Osula and Elanga. Coaches' Voice says they "failed to step up" to close the space. Iraola said both goals were transitions. Opta Analyst counts nine fast-break goals conceded by Liverpool since the start of 2025/26, the most in the league.
- Newcastle United's block: Jaissle's 4-2-3-1 defended as a 4-4-1-1 with player-oriented marking. It held until Wirtz and Gakpo started moving sideways and pulling markers with them. That opened the gap for Gakpo's equaliser (Coaches' Voice).
- Near misses: Horníček saved from Wirtz in the first half and made five saves in all, and Newcastle blocked 16 shots. At the other end Alisson saved with his toe from Osula (25') and with his legs from Wissa (85').
Recreate it in FM26
Liverpool · Iraola's rotating 4-2-3-1 with overlapping full-backs · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Iraola's rotating 4-2-3-1 with overlapping full-backs
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Alisson | Ball-Playing Goalkeeper | Sweeper Keeper |
| RB | Frimpong | Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RCB | Jacquet | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Van Dijk | Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Kerkez | Full-Back | Pressing Full-Back |
| RDM | Szoboszlai | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| LDM | Gravenberch | Box-to-Box Playmaker | Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Ngumoha | Inside Winger | Winger |
| AM | Wirtz | Advanced Playmaker | Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Gakpo | Inside Forward | Winger |
| ST | Isak | Centre Forward | Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Passing DirectnessShorter
- Creative FreedomMore Expressive
- Attacking WidthWider
- Supporting RunsBoth Flanks
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementHigh Press
- Defensive LineHigher
- Defensive TransitionCounter-Press
The idea: Wirtz and Gakpo drift sideways to drag man-markers, Gravenberch receives between the lines and both full-backs overlap to make 2v1s out wide. You need a ball-playing centre-back who can break lines, like Jacquet, and quick centre-backs, because only two players stay behind the ball.
What FM26 can't copy: Played as it was on the day, this card also copies Liverpool's weakness: switch one full-back to stay back, or your centre-backs will face the same two-on-two breaks Newcastle United scored from.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Formation 4-3-3, Muñoz on at 46' not 63' (for Ngumoha), Endo on at 78' (for Gravenberch). A single holder so the centre-backs are never two against two, Muñoz from the start of the second half, and Endo rather than Koumas to protect the chase. It keeps most of the attack and closes the gap the goals came through. It moves Liverpool's win chance from 66% to 75% (xG 2.98–1.58 becomes 2.98–1.13). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Liverpool needed
Wataru Endo
Liverpool's attack made 2.98 xG. What went wrong was behind the ball: with the full-backs and both central midfielders pushed on, Newcastle United's two goals came from breaks against two centre-backs. Endo's job is to stay behind the ball, screen and foul early. He would have been the obvious replacement for Gravenberch at 78', when Liverpool were chasing the game and Wissa still broke through at 85'.
Martín Zubimendi
Newcastle United scored twice from the same situation: a turnover with Liverpool's midfield ahead of the ball, and Van Dijk and Jacquet facing two runners. Zubimendi is a positional holding midfielder who stays behind the ball and is already in place when it's lost. He also passes well enough that Liverpool's build-up wouldn't lose anything.
What the analysts said
“It's a strange feeling. It's not the result you wanted coming here but the way it ended, it tastes better.”Andoni Iraola
“You don't want to concede transitions. We have been preparing during the week for transitions, but this is football.”Andoni Iraola
“For me, it was no penalty – it was a really soft one. If you give that, we will see many, many penalties.”Matthias Jaissle
“I didn't even hear the whistle of the ref so I had to look at him to see if I can go.”Dominik Szoboszlai
Iraola's attack is further along than his rest defence.
On chances, Liverpool should have won. They had 2.98 xG to Newcastle United's 1.58, 27 shots to 13 and 61% of the ball. Newcastle's two goals were not flukes, though. Both came from fast breaks, and both were good chances.
Iraola said so himself. The first goal started with a 4v3 at the edge of Newcastle's box where Liverpool didn't shoot. With Frimpong, Kerkez, Gravenberch and Szoboszlai all ahead of the ball, Van Dijk and Jacquet were two against Osula and Elanga, and they backed off. Willock's goal came two minutes after the equaliser in the same way, with Wissa running at a retreating line. Liverpool left the same gap open again straight after scoring.
The fix came from the bench, not the plan. Mac Allister and Muñoz came on at 63', Iraola praised the "energy" of the substitutes, and Muñoz won the penalty. That is a good sign for the squad, but a side that makes 2.98 xG shouldn't need a 99th-minute penalty to draw.