Shortly before the last World Cup Gareth Southgate had the humility to admit that his “in-game management” still contained scope for improvement. The England coach’s sole problem is that his side simply do not play sufficient games to allow him to make the sort of mid-match substitutions and tactical switches that set managers such as Liverpool’s Jürgen Klopp apart from the crowd.
No matter; at least Southgate was at St James’ Park to study a Klopp masterclass in overcoming adversity to win against all odds. After being swiftly reduced to 10 men following Virgil van Dijk’s early sending off and having fallen behind to Anthony Gordon’s fine opener, Klopp used his substitutes brilliantly and was rewarded by two late, gamechanging goals from Darwin Núñez.
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