Arne Slot bites back on Newcastle United’s gameplan by saying that he did not see a football match last night.
The manager of Liverpool, Arne Slot, remarked during his team’s 3-2 victory at St. James’ Park that “he is not too sure he saw a football match” in regard to Newcastle.
Rio Ngumoha, a 16-year-old forward for the Reds, scored the game-winning goal in the 100th minute of a tense contest in which Newcastle rallied from a 2-0 deficit with just 10 men.
The ball was in play for 40.8% of the game, according to Opta’s statistics, which is the lowest percentage in a Premier League game since February 2010.
“I’m not too sure if I saw a football match,” Slot told Sky Sports after the game.
“It was set-piece after set-piece, long throws. It didn’t have a lot to do with tactics. But I liked a lot how we stood strong.”
There was a fierce atmosphere in the stadium as the game was played against the backdrop of Alexander Isak’s wish to go from Newcastle to Liverpool.
This was evident on the pitch as Anthony Gordon of Newcastle was sent off for a reckless tackle on Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk just before halftime.
The overall number of fouls was 32, which is the most in a Premier League match this season.
“It was a very difficult first half hour, 45 minutes. We didn’t collapse at all and went 1-0 up,” said Slot.
“Newcastle going down to 10 men, you would expect is a big plus for us but when a goalkeeper takes every free-kick, there is not much hope [benefit] if you are one player up. That’s why it was so difficult to bring the 2-0 over the line.”