IT'S THE RATINGS! IT'S THE RATINGS!
I like Steve Bruce. Especially when we beat him. And he acknowledged the recognition from the Kop that he does indeed have a massive heid with good grace and humour.
And we deservedly won. The first half wasn't all that wonderful, with Newcastle evne taking the lead, with a once-in-a-lifetime wonder strike from a Newcastle wing-back who had never scored before. And while the strike was a shock, we were hardly playing very well; sluggish and sloppy with the ball, and no real cohesion between midfield and attack. Origi was adrift out wide, and we seemed nervy.
All that changed when Origi departed injured. The rested Firmino came on earlier than planned, everyone slotted back into their normal roles, and we started playing the type of football that nobody can live with. Newcastle retreated, and that meant we had our central defenders strolling into midfield at will, Robertson causing chaos down the left and Firmino toying with the opposition with a full repertoire of tricks, flicks, feints, passing and effortless brio.
Adrian (6) Not convinced there was much he could do about the goal, although he did go with the "wrong" hand, which probably didn't help. Otherwise untroubled.
TAA (7) Rinsed for the goal, as he was first badly positioned and then beaten one-on-one. Not much to do defensively after that, as he raided tirelessly and pulled their defence hither and thither. Few dangerous balls in and also had a couple of shots himself. Such a valuable player in attack.
Virgil (8) Another casually dominant performance. Never gave Joelinton so much as a sniff, and was in the sort of mood that kills any confidence in the opposition that they can get a result.
Matip (7) Aggrieved not to get a penalty, which is fair enough as he was choke-slammed into the turf. Calm and confident in defence and rightly keeping his place with some very consistent displays.
Robertson (8) Reminded his old boss what a fine player he is, and gave a brutal demonstration of the level he is now performing at; arguably one of the best LBs in the world. Lots of powerful running and impressively in control of the ball even when flying at defenders. All he needs to add to his game is a few goals to go with his regular stack of assists. Boss.
Fabinho (8) Every time Newcastle tried to turn the tide and try and attack, the Big Red Nope was there. Nope, sorry. Nope, nope. Nope. Fuck off. He seemed to win every ball, and then won it again. Passing was also positive and aggressive. Currently playing the holding defensive role at a very, very high level.
Chamberlain (6) Hmmm. Some good stuff here - powerful running and positive in possession - and some bad - very wonky passing and weird decision-making. At times he beat his man and found himself with plenty of attacking options, but then seemed to have no idea what to do with the ball. Inadvertently helped create a goal with a dreadful first touch.
Wijnaldum (6) Loves working in tight spaces and showing off his body strength and technique, but can be infuriating with how conservative he often is when he finds himself in space, so he doesn't do as much damage as he can. One lovely lobbed attempt that went close.
Origi (4) Lumbered about on the left, then tried his luck centrally, then went off. Which was the best thing that happened to us all afternoon, sadly for Origi. We need better options than this.
Mane (9) This lad's brutal. Just wants to attack teams and score goals. There's no messing about, or pointless flicks and tricks, he wants to hurt teams all the time. I fucking love that. Two more goals from the deadly Senegalese and probably should have had another at least. Devastating.
Salah (8) - Often the main beneficiary of Firmino's magical boots and vision, and he scored a beautiful goal after another of Firmino deadly flicks. Great movement and finishing.
Subs:
Firmino (9) Changed the game and Newcastle couldn't cope, as the Brazilian inflicted outrage after outrage on them: drag-backs, backheels, laser-guided passes, scooped passes, feints and non-stop grinning and good-natured arrogance. Really impressive.
