Its clear Xabi doesn't trust him. He didn't even think about bringing off Carvajal until they were up 2-0 (against a very poor opponent).

On his performance: He barely played, but when he got in he did make a nice dummy run that was crucial to opening up a goal. Still, I'm glad he is gone (and I assume Slot is as well). He doesn't train very hard and he will always struggle defensively against top level opponents. Simply put, there are too many really good left wingers (inverted or natural) in world football and he just isn't a good enough defender to trust in high level situations. If he stayed at LFC, he would have started (maybe eventually captained) and we would have worked around his deficiencies. At Madrid, he will just be a late game sub if Carvajal is healthy. Xabi didn't pay for him, so he doesn't feel like he owes him anything.

Edit: I was also slightly annoyed that his jersey just said "Trent"....the dude moved to Madrid and all of a sudden he thinks he is Brazilian.

Hate that the first two games are during the work day

Yes, very annoying. And then we have an international break after the Arsenal game. So a month into the season and I'll have watched a full Liverpool game just once.

BTHO Newcastle!

Stupid Monday games.

And seen rumors of Mac not being in the squad today....nothing certain but seems to be out there, will know soon enough

Rumors are that maybe he had a child?

No Macca today. Jones at RB it appears.

No Mac Allister. Szbo/Jones at RB, and Bradley and Gomez on the bench. I'd assume Bradley and Gomez will be the first off the bench. Hold onto your asses today gentlemen.

I'm going to need Wirtz to live up to his $$$ today. He has looked a bit soft and off the pace in the first few matches against Prem level competition, if he produces like that today we will get bullied off the pitch.

Konate has been freaking awful to start the season.

GRAAAAAAAVVVYYYYYYYY

I'm sorry but that is borderline red from Gordon.

Straight red!

Gotta be a red

That was really stupid by Gordon.

I don't think it was malicious, and it's unfortunate because Gordon had played so well, but that is the right decision. That could have ended in a serious injury on Van Dijk.

Cant believe we are leading, that was a very ugly first 34 minutes. Settled in well after that Grav goal. So good to see him back.

There are a few players who we will not yet name that need to get it in gear soon.

Curtis Jones was very steady in the first half and Szoboszlai was really good at RB. Its just great to have him on the field in any capacity.

Im honestly okay with the first half with all things considered. We dug tf in and made it a point to defend. Was good to see.

The area that needs to get better is the passing from the back line to midfield and the midfield to the front. WAY too many giveaways and poor choices.

Our counter attacks have been awful this year, and that is what I'm talking about. Our ability to get the ball up the field this year has been really really poor at times.

F. So sloppy.

Poor set piece defending once again. Konate has been awful this year. Just go ahead and sell him.

This team has a lot of issues right now.

He's been really poor. You can tell it's still a ton individual pieces right now and not a cohesive unit. Last years team would've put four on the board by now but there's just no cohesion yet.

Its time to start making a few other guys earn playing time too. Wirtz and Kerkez have not been good enough. Salah is mostly non-existent.

I think the midfield has been the biggest issue and concern so far this season. They've been absolutely run through. We have absolutely no control of games right now.

Forgive me for my language fellas...but WHAT THE ****

Rio needs to start.

RIIIIIIOOOOO

That is a RUTHLESS finish from a 16 year old in that situation. Sadly, the best build up we have had all day too.

That was one heck of a match! Glad to take those 3 points!

This is true, and Arsenal up next. Very intense start to the season, but you cant say this team doesnt have resolve.

So glad to take those 3 pts....stole them really.

That being said, lots of issues for sure. Giving up a 2-0 lead with a man advantage and only 5 shot attempts is just awful on all sides. No build up or hardly at all. Konate looks like he's toast. The cohesion issue is real and the sum of the parts aren't working (yet) and the new players themselves (minus Frimpong small sample size) have been very underwhelming. Again way early though.

Definitely need a stryker ASAP along with Guehi (both pipe dreams most likely). But not sure that solves it either, at least for a while. This new look plus the midfield have as completely out of control currently.

Some of the early season criticism is a bit much IMO. Ekitike has come in and been fabulous. The back line CDM issues are carryover from last year, and we've had injuries at RB and absences at midfield due to suspensions and late scratches. Newcastle are set up to play a game exactly like what they played. On paper, they are the exact opposite of our team in midfield and back line. Size, power and speed. No finesse in that side, just power. It works when the ref lets them get away with it (which he did sans the idiot red card by one of the leagues biggest idiots). The start of the season is always about getting to the first international break without major injuries or dropping points to bad teams. So far we are in good shape.

I also think Newcastle are masters of chaining together set pieces. Outside of one good chance before the red card, the only time they looked dangerous was on the set pieces. Their second goal was ridiculously bad defending.

The second conceded goal was just stupid positioning. Their free kick wasn't in the best position, so there was no reason to set such a high line. They should have held a much deeper starting position. If they wanted, they could have still moved up prior to the free kick, but by declaring such a high line in advance you lose all strategic advantage. The minute we set that line up, I knew we were screwed. Slot clearly needs to work on our set piece defense....especially with Arsenal on the doorstep.