'Fantastic', '8/10': Media hails one Newcastle outfield player for his display against Liverpool

By Giuseppe Labellarte

Newcastle United fell to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Liverpool in Saturday’s early Premier League kickoff.

The Magpies have gone from seemingly Championship-bound to pursuing a top-half finish since the start of the year.

However, their unbeaten St James’ Park record came to an end as the title-chasing Reds left with all three points.

Newcastle began brightly but Liverpool had the game’s first efforts on goal through Diogo Jota and Virgil van Dijk.

Naby Keita then opened the scoring on 19 minutes in controversial circumstances.

Newcastle felt James Milner should have been penalised for a foul on Fabian Schar in the build-up.

However, VAR ruled that the former Newcastle midfielder had won the ball.

Newcastle had some bright moments in the second half and occasionally threatened an equaliser on the break.

Meanwhile, Martin Dubravka did superbly to keep the score down.

In the end, Newcastle couldn’t force an equaliser, and Liverpool held on for all three points.

“Did well”

Dubravka was very much the Magpies’ man of the match, but there was praise towards some outfielders too.

Matt Targett earned himself an 8/10 from Chronicle Live, the highest-scoring outfield player on the day.

The media outlet wrote: “A solid display with half a dozen successful tackles. Did well.”

Meanwhile the Shields Gazette gave him 5/10, suggesting he had a mixed display.

“Didn’t track Keita in the build-up to Liverpool’s opener and offered little going forward,” they wrote.

“Helped keep Salah relatively quiet following his introduction.”

TEAMtalk also gave Targett a 5/10, highlighting the good as well as the bad.

“Had a mixed time of his time marking Luis Diaz and Joe Gomez on Liverpool‘s right,” they wrote.

“And the opening goal came on his side, with Keita and Diogo Jota combining.

“Made a fantastic last-ditch tackle to stop Mohamed Salah scoring amid a solid second half.”

And TheHardTackle went with 6/10, writing: “Matt Targett played a key role in denying Liverpool the second goal, thanks to his late clearance.

“Apart from that, the left-back did not do himself any favours by allowing the Liverpool players to cut inside and cause problems down his flank.”