Liverpool held to goalless draw by Newcastle: Records broken
Defending champions Liverpool were held to a 0-0 draw by Newcastle United in their last Premier League encounter. Although the Jurgen Klopp-managed side had an opportunity to extend their lead atop the points table, Newcastle's defense didn't let them sail through. The likes of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and Roberto Firmino were unable to make an impact. Here are the records broken.
Although Liverpool enjoyed possession during the initial moments, they looked bleak eventually. They struggled to produce enough chances before Salah found himself in the scoring range. However, his shot was stopped by goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who also got rid of Firmino's header later on. Liverpool raised their game in the second half, however, Newcastle's sturdy defense averted each scoring opportunity.
Prior to the game against Newcastle, Liverpool were held by a 1-1 draw by West Brom at home. Interestingly, Liverpool attempted just six shots on target in these two games (against Newcastle and West Brom). This is their lowest tally over two games in the Premier League since October 2018 (four against Manchester City and Huddersfield Town in consecutive matches).
Liverpool's starting XI own a combined 359 goals for the club. The last time a Liverpool starting XI with as many goals between them failing to score in a game was in a 0-1 defeat to Brøndby, October 1995 (566 goals).
Mohamed Salah failed to score last night despite creating a couple of chances. However, he still finished the year as the top-scorer (Premier League) with 23 goals, five ahead of Bruno Fernandes (18). Notably, Salah has emerged as the top-scorer twice in last five calendar years (2020 and 2018). He also leads the goals tally in 2020/21 season (13), two more than Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Liverpool still lead the points table going into the New Year with 33 points from 16 games, three points, ahead of second-placed Manchester United. However, United have played only 15 games. Meanwhile, Newcastle have climbed a place to 14th, eight points above the bottom three.
