Szoboszlai Shines in Liverpool's Draw at St James' Park

Dominik Szoboszlai walked up to the spot with St James’ Park howling at him and treated the noise with contempt.

One clean run-up. One vicious swing of the right boot. Top corner. Unsaveable.

Liverpool, somehow, escaped with a 2-2 draw.

Szoboszlai stakes his claim

No Mohamed Salah, no debate? Not quite, but Szoboszlai made a thunderous opening argument in the Reds’ new penalty era.

With the game slipping away and the clock deep into the final minutes, it was the Hungarian – not Alexander Isak – who grabbed the ball. He drilled his penalty high into the top corner, a finish struck with the certainty of a man who had rehearsed this moment all summer.

“I was practising a lot in the pre-season… in training, so thanks to the second and third goalies to be there for me,” he said afterwards.

Andoni Iraola didn’t shut the door on others, but he knew what he’d just seen.

“We have not only Dom and Alexander – we have more very good specialists. Alexis [Mac Allister] also was on the pitch and he’s a very good penalty-taker, Cody [Gakpo] – we have a lot. But I think Dom showed the level. It’s an almost impossible penalty to stop.”

Szoboszlai’s influence stretched far beyond that one moment. He owned Liverpool’s dead balls, taking every corner and free-kick, and kept Newcastle pinned back for long spells as the visitors racked up 27 shots.

Before the late drama, Gakpo had dragged Liverpool back into it with a precise, low strike from outside the box, arrowed into the bottom corner. The Dutchman was relentless, firing off six attempts – the most by any player in Gameweek 1 so far – and adding enough defensive work to hit the DefCon threshold and walk away with 12 Fantasy points.

Liverpool were chaotic, flawed, but dangerous. And Szoboszlai, on this evidence, now stands at the front of the queue from 12 yards.

Isak muted on emotional return

This was supposed to be Alexander Isak’s afternoon. First game back at St James’ Park, the noise back with him, the spotlight fixed.

Instead, he flickered.

Isak was involved in five of Newcastle’s attacking moments as either shooter or creator, but his big chances never quite caught fire. A header was blocked. Another effort from just inside the box flew over, the kind of half-chance he usually shapes into the far corner.

The atmosphere didn’t surprise him, Iraola insisted.

“I think he expected a little bit the atmosphere… I think he has tried everything, has given us good positions on the ball. [He] probably has had a couple of situations to finish inside the box, but probably not the clearest that he wanted or we wanted, but I value that. He has continued pushing on in the game, fighting, and I think it’s a good step for Alex for being the first game.”

Beside him, Florian Wirtz struggled just as much. Used in a front two with Isak, the £7.5m man never found any rhythm and was hauled off just after the hour. His one bright moment, a sharp early effort, was turned away by Lukas Hornicek.

Liverpool’s wide players didn’t cover themselves in glory either. Both full-backs laboured, while Rio Ngumoha looked uncomfortable on the right and was eventually replaced by Victor Munoz, who immediately injected more purpose and won the decisive late penalty.

At the back, Liverpool remained unconvincing as a unit, yet Jeremy Jacquet emerged with credit. He defended stoutly before tiring and coming off on 70 minutes.

“Jeremy hasn’t done a proper pre-season, so it was kind of expected he didn’t finish the game,” Iraola explained. “All the substitutes gave us energy. We need it because it’s difficult to last the full 90 minutes with the same players the way we want to play. Players coming off the bench can affect the game.”

They did. Munoz’s burst into the box and Szoboszlai’s finish proved it.

Wissa at the heart of Newcastle’s new look

For all Liverpool’s late escape, this felt like a statement of intent from Matthias Jaissle’s Newcastle.

They should have won it. They know it.

Anthony Elanga struck, Joe Willock came off the bench to score, but Yoane Wissa was the player who lit up the afternoon. Operating in a No 10 role behind Will Osula, he constantly found space between the lines, drove at Liverpool’s retreating midfield and knitted Newcastle’s breaks together.

He missed a couple of big chances, yes, but he never stopped asking for the ball and repeatedly linked sharply with Osula. One surging carry through the middle opened Liverpool up and ended with Willock’s goal, a move that summed up the aggressive, vertical style Jaissle wants.

“With the new role he’s given me it’s given me a lot of confidence. I’m one of the leaders so I need to back him,” Wissa said of his manager. “The manager expects me to be a leader and lead the group. He wants me to be winning balls, making sure everyone is going forward, going for the kill, and sometimes just be calm. He wants me to keep up the energy. He wants a lot of energy and that’s the role he gave to me and I am very happy.”

On this showing, Tottenham Hotspur have been warned. Both of Newcastle’s goals came from rapid counters, balls slid in behind a stretched defence. Leave space, and Wissa and Osula will run into it.

Behind them, Hornicek and Amar Dedic were assured, while Lewis Miley impressed in midfield despite a disrupted pre-season. Newcastle looked like a side already buying into Jaissle’s demands.

Early injury worries

Not everything went Newcastle’s way.

Club captain Dan Burn is set for a spell out after suffering an ankle injury in training. He arrived at St James’ Park on crutches and in a protective boot, a stark sight for a fanbase used to his iron-man reliability.

Osula also caused concern. He appeared to be struggling after a heavy collision, tried to run it off, but eventually made way just before the hour mark. There was no immediate update on his condition, though Jaissle is likely to face questions ahead of the midweek EFL Cup tie against West Bromwich Albion.

For Liverpool, the questions are different. Who really owns the penalties now? Can this defence be trusted once the tempo rises?

For Newcastle, the picture is clearer: if this is what Jaissle’s side looks like in week one, how dangerous will they be once Wissa, Isak and the rest hit full stride?