A Fitting End to 2020
Liverpool 0 – 0 Newcastle – 12/30/2020 – Saint James’ Park
What a rather lackluster end to 2020. In a year that saw Liverpool end their 30 year League Title drought, our Champions couldn’t muster up a three-point performance against Newcastle to end the year on a high note. This is not to say that Liverpool did not have the opportunity to take all the points, it just seemed like Newcastle keeper Karl Darlow had the absolute game of his life.
Liverpool had chance after chance after chance, but nothing seemed to go right for the guys. Everything near the neat was cleaned up neatly by Darlow, but with that being said, Newcastle did not have any major chances either. Back and forth the game went and there was nothing to show for it.
One of the few bright spots, in my opinion, was Thiago’s play. This guy is a world-class midfielder, no two ways about it, I just wish he can stay healthy throughout 2021 to show everyone else what I’m seeing. He looks like he plays with everything around him slowed down, he never seems to be in a rush and always know what to do with the ball. It reminds me of having a prime Stevie Gerrard and prime Xabi Alonso in our midfield again.
Another bright spot is our backline play. When Virgil went down with the ACL injury I feared our backline would crumble and we would have to score 3 or 4 goals a game just to win. Boy howdy was I wrong. Since that, and many more injuries, Fabinho has stepped into the center back position and has been IMMENSE. Making decisive tackles and stepping up when we needed him the most. Serious shots for LFC Player of the Year should be heading his way.
I’ve decided to keep my first post-match article back from a break short. I wish all of the American Scouser family a happy, healthy, and successful 2021, and hopefully, our boys in Merseyside carry the same success from 2020 into the New Year. See you all on the flip! YNWA