Newcastle coach speaks candidly after losing to Liverpool in the Premier League.
Matthias Jaissle, manager of Newcastle United, admitted he was very frustrated with the referee's decision to award Liverpool a penalty in stoppage time, which allowed them to equalize 2-2 in the opening match of the 2026-27 English Premier League last night.
At St. James' Park, the home team Newcastle nearly won 2-1, but in stoppage time Lewis Hall fouled Liverpool winger Victor Muñoz inside the penalty area, and Dominic Szoboszlai took the penalty to help Liverpool draw 2-2 and earn one point.
Jaissle said, "In the end, I was quite disappointed. We were close to getting three points, but there are some positives because the players performed excellently for the full 90 minutes."
"We are a young team, and they gave their all on the pitch, which is something we can build on."
Regarding Liverpool's penalty: "If you call that a penalty, it's a very soft one, and then you would have to award many penalties throughout the game and the whole season. I'm not very happy with that decision."
"However, I am proud—proud to see the unity on the field. The players tried to play the way we wanted, focusing on attacking and pushing forward. I am very pleased."
"That's our philosophy. Yes, it depends on the opponent, but we have a clear goal about how we want to play football, and today we saw that quite a lot."
"I really enjoyed it. I saw the young players giving their best, showing determination, and connecting well with the fans. It's very special. It will be a great season full of big challenges. We are realistic but determined to reach that goal."
"The fans are amazing. I had heard a lot about them, but experiencing it myself gave me goosebumps immediately. You get energy from the stands, and you want to channel that onto the pitch. This connection will be very special for us."