Newcastle United's cutting edge missing as club prepares for EFL Cup final

 

A rainy night on Tyneside began with a magnificent tribute inside this vast stadium to Sir Bobby Robson who, of course, managed his beloved Magpies and would have been celebrating his 90th birthday on Saturday.

It ended with fourth-placed Newcastle looking nervously over their shoulder towards Liverpool's mini-revivalists, whose second successive 2-0 win - following on from Merseyside derby victory against Everton - leaves them six points behind Eddie Howe's side with a game in hand.

The serenades outside the ground were all about Wembley and next Sunday's Carabao Cup final with Manchester United - another chance to end the wait for a major trophy that stretches back to the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup win in 1969.

And yet even those notes of optimism were haunted by the shadow of the red card given to goalkeeper Nick Pope, which rules him out of Newcastle's first big showpiece since the 1999 FA Cup final.

Newcastle were already 2-0 down when Pope, such a towering figure in Newcastle's renaissance, made a horrible mess of a dash from goal to challenge Mohamed Salah. He slipped, panicked and took what he regarded as the only option other than Newcastle going 3-0 down, scooping the ball away from Salah with his hand as he lay prone on the turf.

Referee Anthony Taylor's subsequent red card was an inevitability.

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Nick Pope conceded twice before being sent off in the 22nd minute - the earliest a goalkeeper has conceded twice and been sent off in a Premier League game

There was a loud collective groan around St James' Park, followed by another when the realisation sank in that the significance of what Pope had just done stretched beyond this night.

Newcastle showed commendable spirit despite their numerical handicap but there is just the lingering suspicion that Howe's side, having pushed themselves so hard to exceed expectations this season, are starting to hit the wall.

They are still in a strong position, one they would have happily signed up for at the start of the season. Liverpool are the only side to beat them in the league this season - their previous loss coming in the last minute at Anfield. And another sign of their formidable run is the fact that the two goals they conceded in the first 17 minutes here matched the number shipped in their previous eight league games.

But the worry comes when the surface is scratched.

Newcastle have won only one of their last seven league games, drawing five and only scoring three goals in the process.

Their cutting edge, for now, has gone. The timing is bad. They look, at times, leg-weary.

Newcastle conceded as many goals in the opening 17 minutes against Liverpool as they did in their previous eight Premier League matches combined (2)

And the absence of Pope has all the capacity to be a real game-changer next weekend because of the options available.

Howe, understandably, was talking up Pope's potential understudies Loris Karius and Mark Gillespie, but make no mistake: this is a savage blow to their ambitions of finally bringing a trophy back to parade in front of their fervent supporters.

Karius has not played first-team football for almost two years, when he played for Union Berlin against Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga. Gillespie, 30, played three League Cup games for Newcastle in September 2020 but has not figured since.

Howe insisted they would be "match ready" despite only figuring in training and friendlies. Every member of the Toon Army will hope he is right.

Pope's absence is arguably the worst blow they could have suffered, although influential midfielder Bruno Guimaraes will be back at Wembley to add his world-class flourishes to the big occasion.

A banner in the stands in memory of Sir Bobby Robson on what would have been his 90th birthday before Newcastle's match with Liverpool

Tyneside will decamp to Wembley for the day and the presence of those fans alone will lift Newcastle - but there is the prospect of nervy times ahead, before and after the final.

Newcastle have possession of fourth position and points on the board, but if there is one side with the capacity to produce a run to claim that place - assuming Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United will be the top three - it is Liverpool. And suddenly they look a little ominous.

Optimism remains sky-high around Newcastle - rightly so - but there is no escaping the brutal truth that they must snap out of this mini-slump quickly with so much on the line in the coming weeks.