Newcastle United forward Ayoze Perez has reflected on the 1-1 home draw with Liverpool.
Newcastle United’s Ayoze Perez in action against Liverpool
Newcastle United forward Ayoze Perez has told The Mirror that the Magpies knew they were going to suffer against Liverpool on Sunday, but they must show the same mentality moving forward.
The Magpies went into Sunday’s meeting having lost 1-0 to Brighton and Hove Albion in their previous game, and manager Rafael Benitez will have been keen to get back on track against his former club.
His current side fell behind though, as Philippe Coutinho scored a stunning long-range strike to put Liverpool 1-0 up, with Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah looking dangerous in Jurgen Klopp’s attack.
However, Liverpool’s Achilles heel struck again, as terrible defending allowed Joselu to run clean through on goal from Jonjo Shelvey’s pass, and whilst Joel Matip recovered, his tackle saw the ball bounce back off Joselu and into the net.
Whilst both sides pressed for a winner, the game finished 1-1, with Newcastle no doubt pleased to pick up a point in a tricky game against Klopp’s often devastating but regularly frustrating Liverpool side.
The result takes Newcastle on to 10 points from seven games, and whilst Benitez’s men lie in the top half of the Premier League table, manager Bentiez won’t be getting too carried away just yet.
Now, Newcastle forward Ayoze Perez has told The Mirror that he felt the 1-1 draw against Liverpool was ‘a great point’, and he believes that the Magpies showed that they can handle playing against the so-called ‘bigger’ sides.
Perez added that it’s been a good start to the season for Newcastle, and he wants the Magpies to show the same fighting character and mentality moving forward, having known they were ‘going to suffer’ against Liverpool’s movement.
“It was a great point against a top side,” said Perez. “We had to realise it was going to be a really hard game. It was a different kind of test, but we showed we could handle it. We knew we were probably not going to be able to be as good as we’d like to be on the ball. We had to adapt to that and change our style of football to try to overcome Liverpool’s strengths. We tried to play on the counter-attack and take advantage of the spaces in behind. There were times when we did that better than others, but it is still a good point for us.”
“We’re on 10 points now and I think that’s a good number. It could have been even better, but it’s a good start. I think if we’d been offered this position at the start of the season, we’d have taken it. We have to keep growing and improving, but we’ve shown that we’re comfortable at this level. We’ve had a few different tests, but we showed against Liverpool that we can handle ourselves against a top side. Most people were probably expecting us to lose, but we gave everything to make sure we didn’t, and that’s important. We showed a good side to our character. We knew we were probably going to suffer, because they move the ball and move around really well. We just have to keep working in the same way, and with the same mentality,” he added.
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