Liverpool came from behind to beat Newcastle 2-1 this week. New signing Alexander Isak put Newcastle a goal up and had a second disallowed controversially by VAR.
Newcastle then resorted to time-wasting tactics to not allow Liverpool to score.
As the clock kept ticking, Newcastle’s approach to the game started causing frustration among the crowd and the Liverpool team.
Every set-piece for the black and white outfit was accompanied by players asking for physios to come on. This spurred on Liverpool players, their dugout and the majority of the crowd at Anfield.
Roberto Firmino equalized just after the hour mark. The equalizer seemed to further worsen Newcastle’s time-wasting in a bid to avoid a defeat.
The referee, aware of Newcastle’s negative tactics, added 5 minutes after regulation time.
The Newcastle squad spent much of the 5 added minutes as they had spent the whole game, wasting time.
Nick Pope in particular seemed to have suffered from an “injury”. This caused the referee to add a few more minutes to the minimum added time, to be fair to the opposite team, i.e., Liverpool.
This added time in added time seemed to work for The Reds as youngster Fabio Carvalho scored in the 90+8th minute to ensure Liverpool left the stadium with all three points.
This gritty win came as a stark contrast to the dreamy 9-0 win Liverpool racked up against Bournemouth in the previous match.
The tough match, subsequent victory and more so, Newcastle’s behaviour throughout the match, meant emotions ran high and the bench was seen celebrating wildly when the final whistle was blown.
One player particularly stood out in these celebrations, Joel Matip. The Cameroon international has recently come back from an injury and was an unused sub in the game.
The Cameroon international seems to have gotten carried away at the moment and can be seen pounding the ground, which is reminiscent of a WWE star Randy Orton a.k.a. the Viper.
The WWE wrestler does a similar move before performing his finisher moved RKO.
The defender is much adored by fans and has helped his club win the champions league and premier league by forming a formidable partnership with fellow centre-back Virgil van Djik.
Many clips have been captured of the happy-go-lucky player, with compilations floating around on YouTube and accounts dedicated to him on Twitter.
Matip is expected to be back in action for the next game, and we will be hoping for more memes and funny content from the Cameroonian.
Never change, Joel. Never change.