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Newcastle took the lead after four and a half minutes thanks to an incredible burst of speed from Anthony Elanga, before the Swede put the home side 1-0 up with a fine finish past Alisson Becker. Liverpool then equalised thanks to a wonderful long-range goal from Cody Gakpo, but their happiness didn’t last long as Joe Willock scored to make it 2-1 just one minute later. Dominik Szoboszlai earned Liverpool a point in stoppage time by converting a penalty, although the Reds did not deserve it. Alisson Becker – 6/10 Blameless for both goals, but didn’t produce anything special to contribute to the game. Can’t expect more when he was so exposed. Jeremie Frimpong – 5/10 Booked after 30 minutes, but he was unlucky to go into the book after playing the ball. His distribution is improving, but his decision-making is still questionable as Liverpool continue to cry out for a better right back. While he didn’t explicitly do much wrong, he didn’t do anything that convinces me he is good enough to start for Liverpool. Jeremy Jacquet – 6/10 Looked a bit nervous but held his own well on his Premier League debut. Iraola took him off after 69 minutes for Ronald Araujo as Liverpool work on increasing both defenders’ fitness. Virgil van Dijk – 7/10 Surrounded by dross. That’s the only negative thing I can say about him. He didn’t produce anything special, but like Alisson, he was too busy putting out fires that he didn’t start. Milos Kerkez – 5/10 Elanga slaughtered him for the first goal. The Hungarian looked very slow in comparison and received a yellow card after 29 minutes for wrestling the Swedish forward to the ground. The rest of the game was as poor as his start. He looked headless at times and well below the standard needed. Ryan Gravenberch: 4/10 Truly, truly poor from Gravenberch. One of the worst games he’s had for Liverpool. For both goals, the Dutchman gave the ball away cheaply on the edge of the box. What frustrated me to no end about his performance, however, is that he never seemed in control at all. His entire game was, in a word: reactive. He didn’t assert himself on the game at all and allowed far too much to happen around him. Dominik Szoboszlai – 6/10 The Hungarian was alright in midfield, but he was also well below the standards we all know he’s capable of. When he signed his new £300,000 per week deal a couple of months ago, this is not the performance he would have dreamed of opening the new season with. His penalty kick in the 98th was absolutely incredible, though. The technique and composure to blast the ball into the top corner was extraordinary. Florian Wirtz – 5/10 I don’t really know what I expect from Wirtz anymore, but it’s a lot more than this. He looked weak physically, void of any creative ideas, and certainly nothing like the £116m player he became last summer when he moved to Liverpool. Cody Gakpo – 8/10 In a summer transfer window which started with some fans begging for him to be sold, Gakpo has underlined his importance to Liverpool with a truly fantastic display against Newcastle. The Dutchman scored from 25 yards with a brilliantly low-driven shot into the bottom corner, just minutes after going close with a curler. He could have made it 2-2 after being played through on goal, but his decision to cut in on his right foot saw the big chance go begging. Alexander Isak – 4/10 A shadow. Whether it was the boos from the Newcastle fans or just a poor game, there isn’t a single thing I can remember from the game that made me think Liverpool are close to seeing the £125m striker they signed a year ago. Rio Ngumoha – 6/10 The young teenager tried and tried, but couldn’t produce anything meaningful, but his attempts were noteworthy. While Iraola took him off for Munoz, he will get more used to playing on the right soon, which will increase how effective he is there. Munoz, incidentally, showed him exactly how it’s done when he won the penalty that allowed Liverpool to make it 2-2 in the 98th minute.