‘They do nothing’ – NBC pundit claims Liverpool duo were barely involved in win over Newcastle | OneFootball

Aside from a couple of brief scares at 1-0, Liverpool enjoyed a comfortable victory over Newcastle at Anfield on Wednesday night, extending their lead at the top of the Premier League to 13 points.

A second consecutive 2-0 victory, in tandem with Arsenal slipping up again, leaves the Reds in a near-unassailable position at the summit, having come through an intense five-match fortnight with 11 points from a possible 15.

It was a game in which Arne Slot’s players put in a convincing collective performance, with Dominik Szoboszlai arguably the standout, although some of his teammates went about their business quietly to the point of virtually going unnoticed.

Mustoe: Liverpool centre-backs did ‘nothing’ v Newcastle

When analysing the match on NBC Sports Soccer, Robbie Mustoe suggested that Liverpool’s centre-back duo were virtual bystanders on the night, such was the comfort with which the Reds triumphed.

The pundit said: “I looked at [Virgil] van Dijk and [Ibrahima] Konate in the last 10 minutes of the game. They do nothing. They don’t have to do anything. It’s all happening in front of them. They’re so hard to get through from the front line, to get through the midfield, that they actually might do something.

“Newcastle are a good side. They’re a good team, and they gave plenty in that game today, but the power, the dynamism of this Liverpool team is stunning.”

(Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Van Dijk and Konate still played their part in controlled Liverpool win

We take Mustoe’s point, although it wasn’t until Alexis Mac Allister’s superb finish just after the hour mark that it felt like Liverpool were in a commanding position. The Reds started the second half slowly and had to survive an earlier scare when Callum Wilson inexplicably missed a gilt-edged chance.

Nonetheless, that was one of only three shots that Newcastle managed all night, and they had none after the 50th minute, which points to how effective a job Van Dijk and Konate did at Anfield on Wednesday.

While the centre-back pairing went relatively unnoticed in the match (another sign of LFC’s firm authority), they still played an important role towards achieving the result, winning four duels each and keeping play ticking over with 168 accurate passes combined, in addition to the eight clearances they made between them (Sofascore).

Some of Liverpool’s performances in recent weeks have been untypically chaotic (the Wolves and Everton games stand out in that regard), but the wins over Manchester City and Newcastle saw a return to the calm and composed exertion of control which defined the early months of Slot’s tenure.

Van Dijk and Konate did what they had to do last night with great competency, providing the platform for their teammates further forward to grab the headlines and conjure the match-winning moments.