Milos Kerkez's Challenging Performance at St James’ Park
Milos Kerkez felt it from both sides at St James’ Park – from the touchline and from his own penalty area.
The new first-choice Liverpool left-back, promoted after Andy Robertson’s move to Tottenham Hotspur, endured a bruising afternoon in the 2-2 draw with Newcastle that underlined both his potential and his raw edges.
Elanga exposes Kerkez early
The tone was set inside the first five minutes. Anthony Elanga burned past Kerkez down Liverpool’s left and sparked the move for Newcastle’s opener, the Hungarian caught on his heels and chasing shadows as the Magpies landed the first punch.
From there, his afternoon never quite settled.
Kerkez struggled to impose himself going forward, his usual thrust down the flank blunted, and his display drew criticism from Liverpool Echo reporter Ian Doyle, who highlighted a couple of flashpoints that summed up the defender’s day.
Iraola and Van Dijk lose patience
One moment in particular infuriated Andoni Iraola. As Elanga picked up the ball again on Kerkez’s side, the full-back was slow to close him down, taking what Doyle described as “an eternity” to engage before conceding a corner. Iraola, already simmering, could barely contain his anger on the touchline, gesturing furiously as his left-back retreated into position.
The message was clear. The standards required are higher.
Later, Virgil van Dijk took matters into his own hands. During a Newcastle break along Kerkez’s flank, the Reds’ number 6 again hesitated, too slow to get tight to his man. Van Dijk tore across to shut down the danger himself, then let his team-mate know exactly what he thought. No hiding place, no soft words.
At this level, those conversations are part of the job. But when both your head coach and your captain are on your case in the same game, it tells its own story.
Mixed numbers, harsh reality
Kerkez’s performance was not without merit. The underlying data, via Sofascore, paints a more nuanced picture: six duels won, seven defensive contributions, three tackles, one shot on target and one key pass. The work rate was there, the involvement constant.
The problem lay in the moments that matter most. Defensively, the lapses were too obvious to ignore. In attack, when he did get into advanced positions, he squandered a couple of promising openings, the final ball lacking the precision Liverpool needed.
For a 22-year-old still bedding into a new role and responsibility, there is context. But he will know, without anyone needing to tell him, that this was below the level he expects of himself.
Response time at Anfield
Iraola will now demand a reaction. Nottingham Forest visit Anfield next Saturday, and Kerkez is likely to find himself locked in a duel with Ola Aina in Oliver Glasner’s wing-back system – a different kind of test, but one that will probe his concentration and aggression all the same.
Liverpool have backed Kerkez as their long-term option on the left. One uneven display in August will not change that. What it does do is sharpen the focus on what comes next.
Does he absorb the criticism, tighten up his defending and turn those forays forward into real threat? Or does Newcastle away linger in the mind longer than it should?
The answer will start to emerge when he steps out at Anfield next weekend.
