10 2GG Monday July 27 2020 | the times
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Match briefing
There was a minute left of an
absolute marathon of a season and
the Newcastle United forward
Joelinton was suddenly in a
goalscoring position, deep in the
Liverpool penalty area. There was a
final push from Virgil van Dijk,
hitting the accelerator one last time,
catching his opponent, taking the ball
off his feet and cleaning up danger.
The lead then was a single goal.
In the move that directly followed
his intervention, Liverpool went up
the other end of the field and the
substitute Sadio Mané bent in his
side’s third.
The last player to congratulate
Mané was Van Dijk, slowly walking
over and hugging his team-mate.
There is a standard that Van Dijk has
brought to Liverpool that cannot be
understated. £75 million is a snip. In
the fine detail, in the crucial moments
Van Dijk stands out.
His appearance yesterday
completed two successive Premier
League campaigns without missing a
match (in total he has played 89
successive games in the most
physically demanding league in
Europe). In those two campaigns
Liverpool have conceded 29 goals
on their travels in 38 games. This
season the goals-against column
away from Anfield is the best
in the division with 17
(including the four
conceded at Manchester
City after the title was
won). Last season
they conceded 12.
Each campaign has
produced 13
victories away from home.
He became only the fifth
outfield player to lift the
Premier League title after
playing every minute of
every game. The other four
are also defenders, César
Azpilicueta, Wes Morgan,
John Terry and Gary
Pallister.
The vast emptiness of
stadiums provides an
insight into the
dominant forces
inside teams.
Martin
Dubravka,
for instance,
never stops
barking
orders about
MARTIN HARDY
13
Gayle 1 Van Dijk 38
Origi 59
Mané 89
RATINGS
Newcastle United (5-3-2): M Dubravka 6 —
V Lazaro 6, J Manquillo 6, F Fernández 7, D Rose 5
(K Watts 74min), M Ritchie 6 — J Shelvey 6,
N Bentaleb 5 (S Longstaff 49, 6), M Almiron 6 —
D Gayle 7 (A Carroll 70, 3), A Saint-Maximin 6
(Joelinton 46, 5). Booked Fernández.
Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson 6 — N Williams 5
(T Trent-Arnold 85), J Gomez 7, V Van Dijk 8,
A Robertson 7 — N Keita 6 (C Jones 85), G
Wijnaldum 6, J Milner 7 — A Oxlade-Chamberlain 7
(R Firmino 64, 6), D Origi 7 (M Salah 64, 7),
T Minamino 6 (S Mané 64, 7).
Referee A Taylor.Newcastle
UnitedLiverpool
Champions end with flourish
shape. Van Dijk is not that
noisy, or relentless, but when
he snaps an order, it is usually
followed by an action.
Liverpool trailed after only
24 seconds, a quickly taken
Jonjo Shelvey free kick
catching the young
defender Neco Williams
sitting deep and
out of the line of
his back four. It
meant that Dwight
Gayle could slip in a
surprise opening goal with
the outside of his right foot.
Indeed, the free kick itself was
worthy of mention, given that
Georginio Wijnaldum passed
the ball to Shelvey so he
could take it quickly.
It suggested a drop in
mentality after fairly intense
celebrations on Wednesday
night, when Liverpool received
the domestic title for the first
time in 30 years.
In that situation leaders lead,
so the shouts of “squeeze”,
“away”, “time”, came from the
authoritative Dutch figure at the
back, a reminder of what has been
expected since his arrival at Anfield.
Little happened in the first half
after Newcastle’s goal — Alisson
saved from Federico Fernández and
Dubravka tipped aside a TakumiMané makes his mark after coming on as a second-half substitute with Salah and Firmino, with the third Liverpool goal as they ended the season on 99 pointsNeco Williams, caught napping early
in the game, plays Dwight Gayle
onside and the Newcastle forward
puts his side aheadVirgil van Dijk brings his side level
with a looping header into the top
corner of Martin Dubravka’s goalKEY MOMENT
Sadio Mané bends in his team’s third
and their 85th goal of the season to
round off a title-winning season.minutes
Stat of the season
346
Liverpool topped the Premier League
table for 346 of the 353 days this
season. Manchester City led the way for
the other seven daysJOHN POWELL/LIVERPOOL FC/GETTY IMAGESKlopp brings on Salah, Firmino and
Mané. Salah hits post with first touch.64
Origi celebrates scoring
Liverpool’s second goal
Minamino effort — until, in the 38th
minute, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
skipped past Danny Rose, crossed
into the Newcastle penalty area and
there rose Van Dijk, looping his
header into the top corner of the
Newcastle goal.
Divock Origi cracked in a fine
second, his first for 23 games, in the
59th minute, drilling a shot into the
bottom corner. Five minutes later,
Jürgen Klopp introduced his first
three substitutes, Mohamed Salah,
Roberto Firmino and Mané.
Newcastle barely got the ball after
that. With his first touch Salah
cracked a left footed shot off the
Newcastle post. Van Dijk then robbed
Joelinton, a Newcastle substitute, in
the 89th minute and then Mané
struck.
In his praise for Van Dijk, Klopp
used the word special quite a lot.
“It was his big target to do it again
[play every game] and it was special,”
he said. “I am not sure he needs the
praise. He is good. He is special and
his combination of skills is special.
His mindset is really special. This mix
makes him a good centre half and a
good guy as well.”
Klopp also spoke of the mentality
of his team, as they finished the
season on 99 points, bettering last
season’s return by two points.
“The football part of the year was
exceptional, 99 points,” he said.“Super Cup, Club World Cup, Premier
League, 99 points after 97 last season,
the boys showed a consistency.
“We were unlucky a bit last year
with 97 but it was clear to win against
this team [Manchester City] you need
to be nearly perfect and the boys were
nearly perfect. It will have a special
place in my own memories that is for
sure. 100 per cent we did it in the
right manner. We finished it on a high
and we did it. We don’t only win on a
perfect day, they dig deep on the not
so perfect days.”
Newcastle by contrast have limped
to the finish line. There have now
been only four victories in the past 20
league games and the cloud of
uncertainty of a potential takeover
remains. It is a club in desperate need
of direction.
The absent owner, Mike Ashley,
contacted Steve Bruce and the entire
staff on a Zoom call at full time. “It
was to all the players and all the staff
and he wanted to say well done for
the hard work,” said Bruce. “It was
good to hear from him. He reiterated
it [the takeover] is in the hands of the
Premier League and it’s been like that
for weeks.
“When there’s change there’s
always unrest. It’s been a difficult
season. I’ve tried to enjoy it. There’s
been a few ups and downs. I’m a
Newcastle lad and I want the club to
do well.”