It’s the clearest Núñez on at half-time situation you can find. Exactly the game state he thrives in & the sort of games that he played at Benfica that made Liverpool pay the fee they did. Territory-gainer, physical disruptor & ability to make something out of nothing.

One of the best goalkeeping performances I’ve ever seen from Alisson.

This Trent defensive performance adds to the theory that it’s mostly a matter of willingness and concentration, rather than a lack of defensive ability. He has games where he looks defensively locked in & shuts important wingers down, and games where he looks helpless.

I would’ve liked to see Slot rotate a little bit more. I understand the fears behind doing so but fatigue & peak performance need to be managed until May/June. Gravenberch especially I think needs every minute of rest he can get at the moment. His levels have dropped recently.

How poor must Chiesa be in training to not get any minutes ever? Or is Slot being unreasonable with him? We’ll probably never know.

Jones and Núñez are more effective in big matches between even teams than Mac Allister & Jota and nothing has proven otherwise. The bare minimum against PSG is to keep up or beat them physically. You won’t beat them technically. Jones & Núñez contribute to that.

Playing with Núñez here would make Salah’s life so much easier. He won’t beat Nuno Mendes 1v1. That’s not his game. Get Núñez in the box to bully PSG’s CBs and allow Salah to feed him without having to take Nuno Mendes on.

Many reasons contributed to Liverpool going out tonight but rotating just three players at home to Southampton just 3 days ago feels a mistake when you look at how difficult the fight was today. PSG basically rotated everyone over the weekend.

PSG flat-out individually superior to Liverpool in several positions by the way. Nuno Mendes was brilliant and PSG unironically have four players that start ahead of Luis Diaz at LW. Their midfield was excellent, too. Neves, Ruiz & Vitinha won 20/25 duels combined tonight.

Liverpool need to use this summer to bring in 1-2 players who provide “differential quality” — ie. someone with potential to be world-class in their position and keep the team competing for the biggest trophies post Salah & VVD. Alvarez is not that guy. Look at Isak or Ekitike.

Knockout football is decided so much by athleticism and individual duels. In one-off games, physicality thrives. It’s why Bournemouth, for example, can beat anyone on their day. Newcastle have that grit and physicality in abundance & are using it to suffocate Liverpool here.

Spooky how little Liverpool’s front line has offered in the games vs PSG and now against Newcastle. Salah is an elite creator & scorer but struggling with traditional wing duties. Luis Diaz and Jota have been flat-out poor, Jota especially. Squad weaknesses being exposed.

Strange how little Liverpool have tried to build out from the back. Lack of intent to move it through the thirds on the ground. Wonder if Slot is spooked by Quansah RB & Robertson playing out against a ferocious high press. Would like to see Gravenberch take more responsibility.

Despise the Mac Allister sub. Diaz been ineffective all match and Mac Allister at least has the invention and passing range to help break Newcastle down. Diaz’s zone of influence is so incredibly low.

The subs are madness from Slot. I might even argue it’s his lack of long-term experience as a top-level coach showing. I just don’t see how a makeshift back three and practically no midfield is the best way to win this match.

Main fear with this particular England XI is a lack of passing range. Trent RB would significantly improve them. All three midfielders are carry-first players, even though passers often thrive at international level.

Having these Nations League games go into extra time is madness. Give the players a break, man.

Liverpool obviously have a ton of work to do this summer, but I am personally extremely excited to see how a Michael Edwards-led team will invest £150-200m into this team. He’s historically been an absolute recruitment king. Let’s see if he’s still got it.