Liverpool offering more questions than answers

When Liverpool came to Newcastle last August, there was utter jubilation as Rio Ngumoha scored a remarkable 100th-minute winner.

They scored late again this time around, through Dominik Szoboszlai’s 99th-minute penalty, but it felt more like a sense of relief than joy as they rescued a point.

Andoni Iraola said afterwards that his side did not deserve to lose and, to their credit, they never gave up as they earned a 2-2 draw.

A defeat would have been Liverpool’s first on the opening weekend since 2012-13. A draw will do wonders for their spirit, but it will certainly not mask their concerns.

“It is probably not the result you want when you come in before the game, but we definitely deserve this point and even more,” Iraola told BBC Radio 5 Live.

“The team never gave up and we recovered one point. It probably tastes better because we scored in the last minute.”

Iraola will be content with the outcome, given his side trailed twice at a raucous St James’ Park.

However, this remains a Liverpool side offering more questions than answers.

There will be food for thought for the new Liverpool boss, who prefers to wait until the day after a match for a debrief, but this was a relatively positive start to life under him.

“I’ve liked a lot of the things I’ve seen from the team,” he added. “There are definitely things to improve, like the goals, but I’ve seen a lot of things I’ve liked.

“I’ve liked the energy, especially the players coming on from the bench. I think we finished the game quite strong physically.”

“We will never give up, I can guarantee you that,” Dominik Szoboszlai told Sky Sports. “We have to fight all the time during the 90 minutes.

“Everybody who came off the bench made an impact as well. We need the whole squad and we need to be ready.”

That desire was never a cause for concern on Tyneside – but this Liverpool squad must improve, both in terms of quality and quantity.

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