Newcastle United lost to Liverpool on Sunday, and Alan Shearer saw it coming a mile off.
Going into the game, Shearer backed the Magpies to ‘nick it’ against the Reds, as Eddie Howe’s side looked to end their rotten run versus Liverpool.
The last time Newcastle beat them was December 2015, but there was hope that was going to change on Sunday. A lot of pundits were backing the Magpies to win, and it looked very likely after half an hour.
Newcastle were 1-0 up thanks to Anthony Gordon’s goal, while Liverpool were down to 10 men following the red card given to Virgil van Dijk.
Everything was going Newcastle’s way. All they had to do was either see the game out or kill Liverpool off. They looked to do the latter, but missed chance after chance.
That ended up being Newcastle’s undoing, as Darwin Nunez scored two late goals to complete a dramatic turnaround.
It was heartbreaking for the Toon Army, but Shearer has now admitted that he saw it coming.
Alan Shearer saw Newcastle collapse coming against Liverpool
Shearer has appeared on the latest episode of The Rest Is Football podcast, and shared something he told Micah Richards while the pair watched Newcastle United vs Liverpool on Sunday.
“I kept saying ‘if we don’t get a second goal we’re going to regret it, we’re going to get punished here because that’s just what happens in football’,” he said.
“They missed chance after chance after chance, and also you have to give Alisson a huge mention because one of his saves from Almiron to make it 2-0 was just unbelievable. How he kept it out.
“The longer the game went on…Newcastle just seemed to fold a bit in the last half an hour.”
Newcastle really did ‘fold’ on Sunday
Shearer thought Newcastle were going to be punished, and that is exactly what happened. To be 1-0 up against 10 men with an hour to play and still lose is unthinkable. It is absolutely crushing.
But Newcastle only have themselves to blame. They did not take their chances and extend their lead before eventually handing Liverpool the initiative to get back into the game.
We missed so many opportunities to score, on an afternoon of fine margins. That save from Alisson to deny Almiron was outrageous.
Then the Paraguayan did find a way past the goalkeeper, only to be denied by the post. Miggy has been criticised for his misses, but those two were extremely close to going in.
But if you don’t take your chances against a top team then you will be punished and that is exactly what happened.
