Liverpool 3, Newcastle United 0

Mar 10 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

THINGS had been going pretty much to plan at Anfield until the moment Jose Enrique, facing his own goal, turned blind and tried to play the ball out for a throw. It struck Jermaine Pennant and looped over Steve Harper into the net. Two shots later, Liverpool led 3-0.

The last time Kevin Keegan brought a team to Anfield, conceding was an occupational hazard. It took seven goals in April 1996 before those watching knew which side, if any, would win. On Saturday, one was enough.

When Keegan’s current Newcastle United team concede a goal, they concede again. And again. In eight games, Keegan has only twice seen his team concede once in a game. The secret on both occasions? Letting the opposition in so late they do not have a chance to do it again.

A week earlier, Matt Derbyshire’s 90th-minute winner seemed cruel, but it was probably a blessing in disguise. Despite the evidence of everything that went beforehand, if United had conceded earlier, Blackburn Rovers would have won by more.

The Magpies are so bereft of confidence they fold like a house of cards in a gale-force wind the moment the ball hits the back of their net. They were fortunate Liverpool chose to declare at 3-0, knowing they had set the opposition a target they would not reach.

Soon after Steven Gerrard gave Fernando Torres’ through-ball the finish it deserved to hammer the final nail into Newcastle’s coffin, the pair were allowed to make an early start on their packing for Milan. Had the Reds not been more concerned with tomorrow’s European Cup game at Inter Milan, they would have continued helping themselves.

Newcastle had not been under siege up to that point by any means. The opening 43 minutes had gone as they had hoped. Liverpool were restricted to a couple of chances, Harper saving well when a quick free-kick was played to Gerrard. And when Abdoulaye Faye glanced a near-post header goalwards, his frustration at Jose Reina’s save was testament to its quality.

But Liverpool’s victory was guaranteed the minute their team sheet was handed in. On numerous occasions Rafael Benitez has picked the wrong team for a game four days before a big European tie. By selecting Torres and Gerrard, he guaranteed his side would score and therefore beat Newcastle.

With hat-tricks in his last two home games, Torres could scarcely be more confident after proving what a wise decision it had been by Benitez to shell out £20m-plus to secure his services rather than attempt to lure Michael Owen back to Anfield.

And he had to be confident just to attempt to dummy Harper five seconds into first-half added time, never mind do what Pele failed to in 1970 and score. When Gerrard dissected the centre of Newcastle’s defence Torres feigned to take the pass inside Harper but let it run across the keeper before finding the empty net.

One thing Newcastle have in their favour is a player who seems to have every bit as much self-confidence as Torres.

Not even Sam Allardyce saw a throw-in by the halfway line as a goal-scoring chance (probably only because he did not have a long-throw merchant capable of launching the ball into the area from there). But when Habib Beye lobbed the ball to Martins he controlled on his chest, swivelled and unleashed a magnificent dipping volley.

It hit the bar but it made it even stranger that Keegan again named the Nigerian as a substitute, preferring to partner Michael Owen with winger Damien Duff.

Likewise, Geremi’s feeling of self-worth cannot be too high after seeing striker Alan Smith in midfield while he sat on the bench. Allardyce’s early-season captain is now completely out of the picture.

A genuine leader is what the Magpies need, though it must be said Geremi never looked like such a person.

Nicky Butt, not only Newcastle’s most experienced player but also their toughest fighter, passed the ball magnificently in the first half and, for the second match running, produced the kind of skill he is not supposed to be capable of. But even he did not seem to respond when Newcastle needed him most.

When Liverpool’s flukey opener hit the back of the net somebody – on the pitch or, failing that, the touchline – needed to grab United’s players and shake them out of their self-pity. Nobody did and, unless that is put right quickly, Newcastle could have something else to feel sorry about at the end of the season.

The game at a glance

STRIKING CONTRAST

In the unlikely event Fabio Capello went to Anfield to look for a partner for Wayne Rooney, Michael Owen did nothing to push his case. Without a team sheet England’s manager might not have noticed the service-starved Owen was playing as Steven Gerrard produced a master-class behind Fernando Torres

BRING YOUR OWN FUN

Once upon a time you watched a Kevin Keegan team to be entertained, nowadays you have to supply your own amusement. Long before the (official) end of the game, the travelling fans began sarcastically cheering whenever a United player touched the ball and booing when Liverpool did. They got through a lot of booing.

SQUARE PEG WATCH

You go to Anfield with only three fit strikers, so what do you do? Obvious. Stick one up front, one in midfield and one on the bench. Then play a left-winger as a centre-forward. It didn’t work.

SIGN OF THE TIMES

Even the optimistic chants reveal Newcastle’s plight. They used to sing: ‘When we win the Premier,’ now it’s: ‘When we get to Europe’. Until 14th gets you an entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, even that looks a long way off.