Milos Kerkez Faces Challenges at St James’ Park

Milos Kerkez felt it from both sides at St James’ Park – from the touchline and from his own penalty area.

The 22-year-old, now Liverpool’s nailed-on first-choice left-back after Andy Robertson’s summer move to Tottenham Hotspur, endured a bruising afternoon in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle that went well beyond the scoreline.

Early blow on Kerkez’s flank

His problems started almost immediately. Within the first five minutes, Anthony Elanga burned past him down Liverpool’s left to help set up Newcastle’s opener, exposing the Hungarian’s positioning and recovery pace in a way that set the tone for the rest of his game.

Kerkez never really settled. He struggled to influence Liverpool’s play going forward and, when he did get into advanced areas, the final ball often let him down. Liverpool Echo reporter Ian Doyle was among those to highlight the full-back’s difficulties, describing a display that never quite caught up with the tempo of the contest.

Iraola erupts, Van Dijk steps in

Two flashpoints summed up his afternoon.

Doyle noted one first-half moment when Kerkez took an age to close down Elanga near the corner flag, eventually conceding a corner. On the sideline, Andoni Iraola’s reaction was instant and fierce. The Liverpool head coach, usually animated but controlled, was visibly furious, struggling to contain his emotions as he barked instructions and gestured in frustration. He was, as Doyle put it, “not a happy camper – at all”.

Later, the criticism came from even closer quarters. During a Newcastle break down Kerkez’s side, the full-back again hesitated, too slow to engage his man. Virgil van Dijk, seeing the danger develop, charged across to shut it down himself. The captain did the defensive firefighting, then delivered a sharp rebuke to his number 6, making it clear the standard required.

Those two incidents, separated by phases of play but linked by the same theme, underlined a harsh reality: this was not Kerkez’s day.

Mixed numbers, clear message

At Premier League level, angry exchanges between coaches, captains and players are part of the landscape. They often fade with the final whistle. What lingers from this one is the sense that Kerkez is still adjusting to the weight of his new role.

Defensively, he switched off at key moments and allowed runners too much space. In attack, he wasted a couple of promising situations that could have tilted the game Liverpool’s way.

The numbers, though, weren’t all damning. According to Sofascore, Kerkez won six duels, made seven defensive contributions and three tackles, and chipped in with one shot on target and one key pass. Those stats hint at involvement, at a player not hiding, even while the eye test told a more uneven story.

He will know that. Iraola and Van Dijk certainly do.

Response required against Forest

Liverpool’s schedule offers no time for sulking. Nottingham Forest visit Anfield next Saturday, and Iraola will expect a clear response from his left-back.

Kerkez is likely to face Ola Aina in Oliver Glasner’s wing-back system, a different kind of challenge but one that will again demand sharp decision-making and aggression in both directions. With Robertson gone, there is no safety net in this position. The Hungarian is not just filling a gap; he is being asked to define it.

It was an unconvincing start to the season for Liverpool’s new number 6. The question now is simple: does this performance become a warning shot that sharpens him, or the first sign of a longer struggle in one of the most scrutinised roles at Anfield?