IF SATURDAY night’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of Liverpool is to be Rafa Benitez’s last home game in charge of Newcastle, it will no doubt have been a bittersweet affair.

No manager wants to leave after a defeat but victory for the visitors keeps their title challenge on track, and Liverpool is a club with which the Spaniard still has such a strong emotional bond.

There was a clear tactical plan from the start, Matt Ritchie dropping into the back-line to create a five-man defence when the home side was out of possession and then trying to hit them on the break.