Nunez (right) was wasteful as his side pressed forward in the Newcastle goal. Photo: Getty Images/Andrew Powell
Liverpool scored four goals against Newcastle United but can still rightly feel slighted after Martin Dubravka's goal with an attacking display that broke Premier League records.
Jurgen Klopp's side have scored a barely believable 7.27 expected goals, the highest a team has scored in a single Premier League match since the statistic came into use. To put the flurry of shots into more context, Liverpool's xG against Newcastle was greater than they managed last season in their 7-0 win over Manchester United and their 9-point win over Bournemouth :0 combined.
Liverpool finished the game. with 34 shots on target, while Newcastle's second-choice goalkeeper Dubravka maintained a respectable tally with 15 saves. For a while it looked like Liverpool might follow Arsenal's example and not win a game in which they had over 30 shots, but Mohamed Salah's exceptional second-half performance helped them push ahead.
Liverpool's xG increased thanks to winning two penalties, the first of which was missed by Salah. Since joining Liverpool in 2017, the Egyptian has missed six penalties in the Premier League – more than any player in the division. Liverpool stuck with him for the second penalty, which Diogo Jota controversially won and this time Salah converted.
If the result had been against Liverpool, more questions would have been raised about Darwin Nunez's profligacy. Nunez finished the game with eight shots on goal, more than Newcastle overall, and five on target. These odds totaled 1.61xG, the highest of any player this season in the Premier League in a game where they failed to score. Nunez topped the list twice, with 1.14 xG in a goalless draw against Aston Villa in December.
If Nunez can start converting these chances at even an average rate, then Liverpool will have one of the most dangerous strikers in the league on their hands. Center forwards underperforming in xG have been something of a theme at top clubs this season. Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus and Chelsea's Nicholas Jackson are also upsetting their fans.
Liverpool's previous home league games had ended in draws against Manchester United and Arsenal when they were wasteful in the final third and scattered in their shot selection.< /p>
“In a couple of situations we had, we shot from long range when he probably would have been a more positional player,” Klopp said after the goalless draw with Manchester United.
“When we are four scored against Fulham from outside the box once, I knew there would come a moment when we shoot and everyone thinks: “Why didn’t we pass?”
Liverpool have attempted 144 shots from outside the penalty area this season, which is the best in the league (Manchester City and Tottenham are the only teams to have attempted more than 100 shots). Seven of them scored a goal, which is above the league average of 4.9%. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Dominik Szoboszlai are excellent strikers, but Liverpool may have been guilty of giddying up and listening to the Anfield crowd clamor for shots.
However, against Newcastle they avoided the same pitfall by slowing down and playing an extra pass. Liverpool had eight shots from outside the area at the break, but scored just one more in the second half.
The first goal was scored by Liverpool's front three, Luis Diaz, Nunez and Salah combined. in a style that recalled the interplay between Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. Nunez could have shot from a tight angle, but instead he raised his head and put the ball on Salah's plate.
Liverpool made the extra pass to open Newcastle up in the second half at Anfield. Photo: Getty Images/Andrew Powell
It was a similar story for Liverpool's second goal when Salah showed his creativity by passing to Diogo Jota, who was also unselfish on Curtis Jones. Liverpool almost managed to get the ball into the net.
Not only did Liverpool create a large number of chances, but the quality of those chances was exemplary. They also had 34 shots against United but finished the game with just 0.07 xG per shot. In the match with Newcastle, this figure was a sky-high 0.21. In other words, on average, each Liverpool shot had about a one in five chance of being on target.
Often a team has to sacrifice quality for quantity when it comes to effort on goal, but Liverpool managed to do just that. Both had memorable wins on Monday that moved them three points clear of first place.
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