Newcastle boss Eddie Howe gave two reason why he hooked Anthony Gordon off

Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has accepted he could have done things differently with his substitutions against Liverpool.

Howe experienced some criticism for taking off flying winger Anthony Gordon when the ex-Everton man was flying after scoring against the Reds. With his team in a winning position and Gordon closing in on man of the match, Howe withdrew the winger and replaced him with Harvey Barnes as part of a spate of like-for-like subs.

With Barnes, Sean Longstaff and Callum Wilson all not having the desired effect it was Liverpool’s changes that won the game, not least Darwin Nunez who scored twice in the last nine minutes to win it.

READ MORE: Newcastle United 1-2 Liverpool: Game management lacking as Reds snatch dramatic late win

When asked about his changes, Howe said: “There’s always things you’d do differently if you don’t win the match, that’s for sure.

Howe was then asked if taking off Gordon was one he’d regretted and said: “With hindsight, as I said, you’d always do things differently. But when you’re in my shoes, that’s the job you’re in

Howe explained why he’d try to change things up – stating it felt like it was 10 vs 10 in some ways – and added: “Possibly. I had a similar feeling, that’s why we tried to change the momentum of the match. Liverpool are a threat from set-plays, they were putting us under pressure in that moment and we wanted a bit more control.

“But they’re a very, very dangerous counter-attacking team. I just think back to the game here last year when the roles were reversed. We had 10 men and they had 11 and we played really, really well that day and had the best chances in the game with a man less.

“It can happen and when you’ve got players like Salah and Nunez on the pitch, they’re a huge transitional threat and we knew that would be the case. That’s why we were desperate for a second goal to kill the match.”