The Good, The Bad, and The Average #17: NUFC player ratings vs. Liverpool (h) [PL14]

Newcastle United and Liverpool played out a thrilling 3-3 draw at St James' Park tonight with any neutrals watching on Amazon Prime given a fantastic show.

As supporters of the team in black and white, though, we can't help but wonder what might have been if we'd been blessed with a more competent referee.

We deserved all three points on the balance of play and on chances created, while a stonewall penalty for Alexander Isak was denied, and a borderline assault on Anthony Gordon by Virgil Van Dijk was ignored.

Still, it's hard not to feel proud of the lads and coaching staff for their efforts. We went toe-to-toe with the team who will surely be crowned champions in May and outplayed them for large parts of the contest.

Here's how we rated everyone involved in the spectacle, with all three of our star men scoring 8+...

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

The Good

Alexander Isak was tremendous. He made the first real chance of the game with an excellent through ball for Murphy and set up Bruno for a free shot soon after following a slaloming run in the box. He scored a super opener when slotted in by Bruno, slamming it into the top corner from the edge of the box on the run, and then sent Gordon clear shortly afterwards with a cracking pass that should've seen it go 2-0, before getting a deserved assist when slotting our number ten in once again.

What an up-and-down game this was for Anthony Gordon. He worked like a dog to press and hassle Liverpool but missed a huge chance at 1-0 when sent clear on goal by Isak. He made amends in the second half when he squeezed the ball past Kelleher following another lovely pass from Isak and later set up a good chance for Murphy to make it 3-2 that was sadly squandered.

A pair of assists for Bruno Guimarães tonight, with a perfectly weighted pass to send Isak clear to make it 1-0 and then a lovely deep free-kick to find Schär for the late equaliser. He wasn't too heavily involved in open play compared to usual in his more advanced role on the right of the midfield three, but he contributed in vital moments and even managed to win the coin toss.

We didn't think we could love Fabian Schär more than we do, and then he somehow squeezed in that last-minute equaliser. He's just a wonderful footballer. While he hasn't been as good this season as he was in the last couple, he's so important to us with his quality on the ball and his ability to bring it out from the back. He deserved that moment as he didn't deserve to be on the losing side.

We don't know how Dan Burn was part of a defence that conceded three goals because he was really good individually. The only sloppy moment he had was not getting tight enough to Salah for Liverpool's third goal. It can't be said enough how good he's been since moving back into the middle alongside Schär and he was a huge miss in the West Ham defeat in particular when suspended.

Even though Sandro Tonali failed to track Jones' run for the equaliser, this was a powerhouse of a performance from the Italian in the middle of the park in so many different ways. Some of his passing was frustratingly sloppy at times, but the ground he covered and his quick reactions to win a lot of second balls in key areas were vital to a good overall team display.

This was much more like it from Eddie Howe... the decision to start with Murphy aside. If we can add a quality right winger to that side and get Botman back from injury, there's no reason at all why we can't still go on to do something special this season. We gave the champions-elect a torrid time and some awful officiating aside, we probably could and should have won the game.

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

The Bad

We were worried when we saw Jacob Murphy's name on the team sheet, and sadly, we were right to be. He should've put us ahead midway through the first half when doing his usual trick of hitting the far post and it was his woeful pass infield that led to Liverpool's second equaliser. He then missed an admittedly difficult lobbed effort when one-on-one with Kelleher at 2-2.

Andrew Madley had a superb first half before reverting to type after the interval when it seemed like he was gasping to give Liverpool every decision. His worst offence was missing a stonewall penalty on Isak at 2-2, with the striker tripped up when was primed to shoot from the edge of the box. He then blew the final whistle with us bursting clear on the counter. (It turns out Arne Slot paid him a visit at half-time. What a coincidence...)

Chucked on in place of Murphy on the right wing, Harvey Barnes barely made a dent in the contest. We'd still like to see him tried from the start in that role, though, as we can't take any more of watching Mr. Juicy.

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

The Average

We were wondering what all the fuss was about in the first half because Liverpool were abject and seemed badly rattled by our pressing. They improved significantly after chucking on Szoboszlai, Alexander-Arnold, and Diaz, mind, and it might've been a very different game had all three started for them. We still can't see past them for the title, unfortunately.

Despite conceding three times, Nick Pope didn't do too much wrong tonight. He made a couple of excellent saves to deny Mac Allister and Jones but stood little chance with the efforts that beat him due to poor defending in front of him. His handling and distribution was good, with a lot of quick throws to get us on the attack.

Tino Livramento was pretty good here, but he still didn't do enough to influence proceedings for our liking. He wasn't helped by having the hapless Murphy ahead of him, as they weren't on the same wavelength at all, but we'd love to see him back himself more when attacking.

Despite being excellent in possession, for the most part, Lewis Hall had some severe issues defensively. He was caught out for the equaliser early in the second half after being largely good against Salah to that point, and it was his poor pass in the first place that put us under pressure. All three goals came down his side, but he didn't get much help from Joelinton and Gordon.

After having a really good first half, Joelinton struggled in key moments after the break. He gave the ball away sloppily to set Liverpool's move away for the second equaliser and then failed to track Salah's run, leaving the winger with a simple unchallenged finish from close range. We're still convinced that the big number seven, Bruno, and Tonali are our best midfield trio.

Sean Longstaff, Callum Wilson, and Joe Willock were thrown on as a bit of a Hail Mary and though they didn't contribute anything significant individually, their presence helped us to a deserved last-minute equaliser.

Serena Taylor/Newcastle United

The Breakdown

If we were playing anyone else in the league we'd have won handily. This was a very good all-round showing.

The XI

Nick Pope – 6

Tino Livramento – 6

Fabian Schär – 8

Dan Burn – 7

Lewis Hall – 6

Bruno Guimarães (c) – 8

Sandro Tonali – 7 (off 87')

Joelinton – 6 (off 87')

Jacob Murphy – 3 (off 74')

Alexander Isak – 9 ⭐️

Anthony Gordon – 8 (off 87')

The Subs

Harvey Barnes – 5 (on 74')

Sean Longstaff – 6 (on 87')

Callum Wilson – 6 (on 87')

Joe Willock – 6 (on 87')

The Gaffer

Eddie Howe – 7

The Opposition

Liverpool – 6

The Ref

Andrew Madley – 5

Andy Scott/Getty Images

The Next

It's a trip to West London on Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. GMT kick-off with Brentford, who sit ahead of us on goal difference at the time of writing (when they're 3-1 down away to Aston Villa).

They are the best home team in the division so far this season, with six wins and a draw from their seven matches, so to say we'd be happy enough with a point would be a big understatement.

Howay the lads!