Liverpool boss Andoni Iraola is dissatisfied with his side’s draw against Newcastle but is happy they at least showed the fighting spirit to salvage the draw.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s 99th-minute penalty rescued the Reds from defeat in a dramatic 2-2 game at St James’ Park.
“Scoring at the end probably gives you a better taste and I’m obviously happy we’ve recovered one point, but we had done more than enough to score that goal,” said Iraola.
“If it had been earlier, probably the run of the game was for us. But I value that we never gave up.”
The match saw Alexander Isak return to Newcastle for the second time after his £125m move to Liverpool last summer. The Sweden international failed to make an impact against his former club, but Iraola defended his contribution.
“I think Alex expected a bit the atmosphere,” Iraola said. “It wasn’t a big surprise for him. He has tried everything and given us good positions on the ball. I value that he has continued pushing and fighting. It’s a good step for Alex.”
Watch the highlights from our 2-2 draw with Newcastle United in our 2026/27 #PL opener 🎥🔴 pic.twitter.com/6FusUEFVNv
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) August 24, 2026
The result denied Newcastle’s new manager Matthias Jaissle a notable victory over Liverpool in his first game, despite an encouraging display from a young side still adapting to his methods.
Jaissle described the penalty awarded after substitute Victor Munoz was caught by Lewis Hall as “really soft” and insisted he did not believe Newcastle defender could have avoided the contact.
“For me, it was no penalty,” Jaissle said. “It was a really soft one. If you give that, we will see many, many penalties. I don’t think that Lewis Hall can do anything, he cannot just disappear on the field.”
Newcastle were without their injured captain Dan Burn, while Jaissle said the performance of his younger players had provided encouragement during a period of transition.
“When you lose two points like that, it’s really hard to digest but there is also a lot of confidence and we are really proud of what we saw,” he said. “The young lads are doing an amazing job with all the challenges of a transition period.”
