5 highest Premier League xG after Liverpool break record against Newcastle
- Liverpool smashed the single-game Premier League xG record against Newcastle on New Year's Day
- Reds were rampant but wasteful in 4-2 victory
- Liverpool held previous record along with Manchester City
With Arsenal succumbing at Fulham on New Year's Eve, Liverpool were presented with a huge opportunity to open up a three-point lead at the Premier League summit.
Newcastle's visits to Anfield are rarely dull, and their New Year's Day clash was no different.
Jurgen Klopp's side were utterly dominant against a Magpies outfit that had won just one of their previous seven fixtures heading into their 2024 opener.
Eddie Howe's side were once revered for their stern backline which aided their ascent to Champions League football last season. However, at Anfield on Monday night, Newcastle were reliant on an excellent Martin Dubravka display (and some woeful finishing from the hosts) to avoid an even greater humiliation.
Liverpool set Premier League xG record in 4-2 Newcastle victory
1 - With an Expected Goals figure of 7.27 this evening, Liverpool recorded the highest xG total on record (since 2010-11) in a single Premier League game. Bombarded. pic.twitter.com/a0Fy24HHGz
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) January 1, 2024
Despite Liverpool's statistical mauling, Monday's fixture hung in the balance for the large majority of it. After Mohamed Salah had a first-half penalty saved by Dubravka, Darwin Nunez's typical profligacy - the Uruguayan spurned chances worth 1.43 xG in the opening 45 minutes - meant the contest entered half-time all-square.
A bonkers second half in which all six goals were scored then ensued. While Liverpool continued to batter Dubravka's goal, Newcastle found ways of remaining in the contest despite falling 1-0 and 3-1 behind. Alexander Isak and Sven Botman both found the net to unnerve the Merseyside cauldron, but the Magpies' unlikely success in Liverpool's third seemed to consistently spark the Reds into life.
Once Anthony Taylor blew a halt to proceedings and Liverpool extended their lead at the summit, Klopp's men had walked away with an uncomfortably tight 4-2 victory. According to Opta Joe, their 34-shot haul was worth a record-breaking 7.27 xG - 5.75 of which was generated from open play. The Reds smashed their previous record which they held with Manchester City of 5.87, registered in their more efficient 6-0 thrashing of Leeds during the 2021/22 season.
Newcastle, while scoring twice, only mustered 0.59 xG.
Liverpool were as rampant as they were wasteful on New Year's Day, and Salah's impending absence will doubtlessly concern Klopp given the Egyptian's ruthless efficiency which is uncharacteristic of his other forwards. Salah eventually scored from the spot on Monday night after netting Liverpool's first, and he teed up Cody Gakpo for the hosts' third.
Top five highest Premier League team xG totals
Date | Team | Result | xG |
|---|---|---|---|
01/01/24 | Liverpool | Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle | 7.27 |
21/09/19 | Man City | Man City 8-0 Watford | 5.87 |
23/02/22 | Liverpool | Liverpool 6-0 Leeds | 5.87 |
25/05/23 | Man Utd | Man Utd 4-1 Chelsea | 5.22 |
10/05/15 | Man City | Man City 6-0 QPR | 5.20 |
Manchester City previously shared the record with Liverpool after putting eight past Watford in September 2019 - Pep Guardiola's side incredibly 5-0 up after just 18 minutes.
David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Riyad Mahrez were among the early goal scorers but the game is best remembered for Bernardo Silva's hat-trick; his trio of goals among the 28 shots rained down on poor Ben Foster.
Manchester United's 4-1 win over Chelsea in May 2023 gave Erik ten Hag one of his most comprehensive wins as the Red Devils manager, while there's no surprise to learn that another incarnation of City - the Manuel Pellegrini 2015/16 version - accounts for another of the Premier League's most dominant displays - a 6-0 win over QPR that condemned them to relegation back to the Championship.
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