‘Very impressive’ – BBC pundit lauds ‘powerful’ Liverpool brute who won 4 duels v Newcastle

Liverpool were unconvincing for much of their 2-2 draw away to Newcastle on Sunday, but one Reds player came in for praise for his ‘powerful’ performance at St James’ Park.

Andoni Iraola’s team were on the verge of falling to defeat in his first official game as LFC head coach, but Dominik Szoboszlai converted a penalty deep into stoppage time to rescue a point for the visitors.

The manner of the two Magpies goals met with fury from Jamie Carragher on social media as he bemoaned how easily Liverpool’s midfield was played through, particularly for Anthony Elanga’s early opener.

Pat Nevin praises Araujo’s debut performance for Liverpool

Two players came on for their official Reds debuts this afternoon, with Victor Munoz and Ronald Araujo both summoned off the bench, and Pat Nevin was impressed by what he saw from the Uruguayan defender.

The former Chelsea winger said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “There wasn’t a great deal in it but you can see the weaknesses that Liverpool had last season have not gone away. The defence doesn’t look quite there.

“I would say Ronald Araujo came on and looked quite impressive. very, very powerful and very, very strong. He might be a massive part of the answer.”

(Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images)

A positive Liverpool debut for Araujo

It wasn’t the best of days for the Reds’ defence as a collective, with Ian Doyle quite critical of the performances of full-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez, but Araujo can be pleased with his contribution after coming on for fellow debutant Jeremy Jacquet in the 70th minute.

The aforementioned Doyle wrote (via Liverpool Echo) that the loanee from Barcelona was ‘solid’ on his first Premier League appearane, also highlighting his long-throw threat, and the 27-year-old’s match statistics (via Sofascore) also paint a positive picture.

Whether the Uruguayan’s performance today will be enough to get him into the starting XI for the Nottingham Forest game next Saturday is debatable, as Jacquet also gave a good account of himself at St James’ Park this afternoon.

Araujo comes to Liverpool with a wealth of elite-level experience from his time at Camp Nou, and although many players struggle to adapt to the rigours of the Premier League, he appears to have the requisite physicality to succeed in this division.

It’s very early days yet, of course, but this was a positive first competitive showing from our new number 33, who looks like he could be a vital presence in the Reds’ squad over the next few months.