Opta player stats: Newcastle
There is only one stat that really matters in football - the final score. But here at Liverpoolfc.com we know supporters love to delve through the facts and figures after each game, so we're allowing you to do just that with the help of Opta.
And to make things a little clearer we have broken down the statistics from the Reds' 1-1 draw against Newcastle into sections which outline how both sides fared in terms of possession, how they rated defensively and going forward.
Distribution
Joe Allen took more touches of the ball than any other player on the park (99) and the Wales international played more passes (86). In terms of accuracy, however, Martin Skrtel was the most clinical in possession, recording an 89.8 per cent pass completion rate.
Alongside him Daniel Agger attempted 53 passes in all. Just one ball was sent long while 46 found a red shirt. This contrasts with the stats recorded by Newcastle's Fabio Coloccini, who played 21 passes, 28.6 per cent of which were sent high up the field.
On the day he made his 600th appearance for the club, Steven Gerrard was desperate to supply his teammates with goalscoring opportunities, and the skipper peppered the Newcastle penalty area with 12 crosses.
For the visitors, Yohan Cabaye stood out, despite having his game cut short by substitution on 68 minutes.
The central midfielder was Newcastle's most accurate passer with an 88 per cent completion rate and he proved a thorn in Liverpool's side defensively, as he won 100 per cent of his aerial duels and swooped to intercept play on four occasions.
Defensive
The extent to which Liverpool applied the pressure in search of a winning goal is illustrated by the fact that Toon frontmen Demba Ba and Papiss Cisse were forced to drop deep and make seven clearances between them.
Steven Taylor meanwhile, made a massive 16 clearances. A figure that was matched by the combined efforts of his defensive partners Coloccini, Davide Santon and Danny Simpson.
For Liverpool, Gerrard was determined to shut-out the opposition, playing the ball to safety on four occasions and winning three tackles.
Andre Wisdom was solid, launching into three challenges and emerging with possession from each tackle.
Attacking
Raheem Sterling was his usual vibrant self in the game, skipping away from opponents with lighting pace. On plenty of occasions his markers tried - and failed - to stop him in his tracks and this is reflected in the stats, as the diminutive winger drew a total of six fouls from various Newcastle players.
Gerrard was eager to cap reaching a landmark appearance by netting against the Toon. He sent five efforts crashing towards Tim Krul's goal from outside the penalty area.
However, leading the way in the shot count was the 'unplayable' Luis Suarez with seven. Four of his efforts came from inside the penalty area, the tamest of which was a simple tap-in after he had controlled a plummeting Jose Enrique pass with his shoulder and rounded Krul to equalise for the Reds.
Combined, Newcastle strikers Cisse, Ba and Sammy Ameobi registered four shots on goal.
But rather than rely on their strikers, Newcastle took the lead through Cabaye when he netted a sublime strike two minutes before half-time.
The effort constituted one of the Frenchman's two shots on goal in the whole game and his second came a minute later when he tried his luck from distance but the ball sailed over the crossbar and into the Kop behind.
All three of Jonjo Shelvey's efforts were on target and came from inside the penalty area. Sterling varied his with two of his three efforts coming from outside the box but the youngster failed the hit the target with any.
Enrique was the only Liverpool defender to try and beat Krul, registering one effort on goal. While out of the six Newcastle defenders who featured at Anfield, Taylor was the only one to shoot at Brad Jones' goal.