Liverpool were made to work extremely hard for a point at St James’ Park, as Newcastle United largely outperformed Andoni Iraola’s side throughout the afternoon.
Goals from Anthony Elanga and Joe Willock looked to have sealed all three points for Matthias Jaissle’s Newcastle, before Dominik Szoboszlai’s last-minute penalty rescued a 2-2 draw.
Iraola will no doubt be relieved to have avoided defeat, but the manner of Liverpool’s performance will have left the manager with plenty to address during the coming week.
Several members of his starting eleven failed to deliver the performances expected of them, raising serious questions about their places in the team going forward.
Left-back Milos Kerkez, who made his name under Iraola at Bournemouth, endured a forgettable first game back under his former manager at St James’ Park.
The Hungarian international showed plenty of energy at both ends of the pitch but was ultimately unable to offer any genuine quality in attack or defence throughout the match.
He failed to complete either of his two cross attempts and could not get past any opposition defenders during his dribble attempts across the ninety minutes.
Alexander Isak, returning to his former club, also struggled badly, registering four shots on goal without troubling goalkeeper Lukas Hornicek with any meaningful attempt.
However, Isak and Kerkez were not the only Liverpool players who fell well below expectations, with right-back Jeremie Frimpong producing another deeply unconvincing display on Merseyside’s behalf.
The Dutchman has struggled significantly during his 12 months at Anfield, and while Iraola’s arrival sparked optimism about a potential revival, Sunday’s performance raised fresh doubts about his long-term suitability.
Frimpong managed just 50% dribble success and completed only 20% of his attempted crosses, highlighting a persistent inability to provide attacking quality from his right-back position.
He lost possession 17 times during the match, the highest tally of any player within Iraola’s squad, reflecting a troubling lack of composure in possession throughout the contest.
Even without the ball, Frimpong failed to contribute positively, losing 71% of his ground duels and managing just one successful regain attempt across the full ninety minutes.
He was dribbled past on three separate occasions and was frequently unable to prevent Harvey Barnes from causing serious problems in dangerous attacking areas down Liverpool’s right flank.
His 65 touches and 83% pass accuracy cannot mask the fact that his defensive and attacking outputs were both well below the standard required at the highest level.
Iraola now faces a significant decision, with the evidence from Sunday’s performance at St James’ Park making it increasingly difficult to justify keeping Frimpong in his starting eleven.
It is becoming clearer that the Dutchman may not be suited to operating as a right-back within a back four system, which could cost Liverpool if left unaddressed.
Liverpool face Nottingham Forest next weekend, and Iraola must use the coming days to find an alternative option capable of delivering more consistent quality in the right-back role.
Both Frimpong and Isak will need to dramatically improve their performances if Liverpool are to mount a serious challenge to regain the Premier League title this season.