Anthony Gordon’s red card against Liverpool sparks instant Alan Shearer reaction
Liverpool beat Newcastle 3-2 in a chaotic away game for the Reds.
St James’ Park was bouncing to nobody’s surprise when considering the talk about the Alexander Isak transfer saga that lingered over the fixture.
Ryan Gravenberch’s excellent strike from distance gave the Reds a 1-0 lead going into the break as they looked to have weathered an early Newcastle storm.
Anthony Gordon was sent off as well, on the brink of half-time, as Liverpool looked set to only increase their stranglehold on the game, but it was far from a straightforward second half for Arne Slot’s side.
Alan Shearer reacts to ‘stupid’ challenge from Anthony Gordon
When Hugo Ekitike netted within the opening minute of the second half to make it 2-0, it looked as though it would be a straightforward win for the champions.
Goals from Bruno Guimaraes and William Osula unexpectedly levelled the scoring, before substitute Rio Ngumoha made himself the hero in stoppage time as Liverpool stole all three points at the death.
With the game so tightly contested with Newcastle down to 10 men, it begs the question of how they would have fared with all 11 players on the pitch, as Shearer gave his immediate thoughts on Gordon’s dismissal.
The winger turned makeshift striker in Isak’s absence was initially shown a yellow card after a late challenge on Virgil van Dijk, but it was upgraded to a red after referee Simon Hooper reviewed the incident on the pitch-side monitor.
“What a stupid challenge man. It’s a red card all day,” said Shearer on X during the game.
- Read more: Jamie Carragher disagrees with what Thierry Henry’s just said about Alexander Isak and Liverpool
Liverpool need more control of games
In Liverpool’s two games so far, we have seen them have to rely on late winners after surrendering two-goal advantages
This trend simply cannot continue, and whilst Slot and Co. will surely celebrate this result tonight, they will be concerned at the fact that they were largely dominated by ten men for the vast majority of the second half when they get around to analysing the game.
If Liverpool want to retain the Premier League, they must take the sting out of these games more effectively and not allow their opponents to claw their way back into the game, as there are concerning signs of vulnerability within the champions so far.
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