On this dayRemember When... Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle: The sequel
Successfully making a sequel to a blockbuster can often be tricky. How do you follow up the magic of a well-loved original but also add to it?
Keep some of your key characters, of course. Perhaps retain the same setting for familiarity. But be sure to shake up the script, introduce new plotlines and bring the story to another satisfying, crowd-pleasing conclusion.
Which takes us back to the evening of March 10, 1997 and Anfield.
The players of Liverpool and Newcastle United head out of the stadium’s narrow tunnel and into centre stage under the floodlights, just shy of a year after their last – unforgettable – meeting in L4.
In April 1996 the Reds and the Magpies had produced a true classic; both taking turns to lead during a topsy-turvy 4-3 victory for the home team, snatched in the final moments in front of the Kop, that remains to this day a high-water mark in the Premier League’s hall of fame.
There was no way the sequel could come close to the original, right?
Wrong.
This time, Roy Evans’ Liverpool race into a three-goal advantage before the break, with Steve McManaman, Patrik Berger and Robbie Fowler on target to seemingly eliminate any chance of unpredictable drama; things would be more straightforward.
Yet, back come Newcastle, like a movie villain refusing to give in, repeatedly chipping away at their deficit during the late stages of the second half.
3-1 becomes 3-2 becomes 3-3. Momentum coursing through those black and white shirts – guided by none other than Kenny Dalglish – as colour drains from the floored Reds and time slips through their fingers.
But there is still to be a final, jaw-dropping twist. With 90 on the clock, a cross is swung in from the left flank and there’s Fowler, nose-banded No.9, cruising onto the ball and meeting it with a perfect downward header into the left corner.
Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle: The sequel. A different script but the same satisfying, crowd-pleasing conclusion.
This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.