Liverpool 4 Newcastle 2
Jurgen Klopp’s side welcomed the team that pipped them to Champions League football last season. Having beaten Newcastle at St James’ Park earlier in the season, with only ten men, The Reds were keen to make a New Year’s Day statement.
Liverpool started on the front foot and the visitors struggled to get out of their own half. As Eddie Howe’s side clung on to their clean sheet, Diaz went down in the box and the referee immediately pointed to the penalty spot.
Many felt that the Columbian had taken his time before deciding to go down but VAR reviewed the challenge and stuck with the official’s decision. Of course in these instances they are not checking for a penalty but whether the referee had made a clear and obvious error.
Mohamed Salah stepped up but his penalty was saved by Martin Dubravka and almost as unbelievable was the follow up by Trent Alexander-Arnold. With the keeper still on the floor, he had the whole goal to aim for but sent his effort high into the stands.
Credit: @premierleague
The Anfield crowd looked shell-shocked, unable to believe what they had just seen. Alexander-Arnold then almost scored from the byline as he wrapped his foot around the ball with Dubravka watching it go past him, only to see it clip off his far post. Surely it was a cross, if not, it was some effort.
Dubravka was beginning to infuriate the home fans as he continued to make save after save to deny Jurgen Klopp’s side a goal to break the deadlock. As the sides headed in at the interval level, Howe would need to give his keeper some more spinach before the second half.
After squandering some chances himself, Nunez found himself in a wide position before unselfishly squaring the ball to Salah to tap into an empty net. Say what you like about the Uruguayan’s finishing but he really causes problems for opposition with his style of play.
There was a sigh of relief amongst the cheering fans at Anfield as they thought the goal would never come with the form of the Newcastle keeper. The Reds’ forward line took him out of the equation as they just passed the ball around him.
The visitors then stunned the Liverpool fans as Gordon skipped past a few challenges before playing it into the path of Isak. He struck the ball first time with it beating Alisson and nestling into the bottom corner of the goal.
It looked as though Eddie Howe’s side had come to ruin the party as they scored a goal from nothing. Klopp’s side had been knocking on the door so much in this game it was a wonder it was still on the hinges but now found themselves level again.
Credit: @LFC
As Liverpool continued to search for a goal, Salah found Jota in the box with a tight angle to deal with. As Dubravka readied himself for the shot, the Portuguese attacker squared it for Jones to tap it into an empty net much like The Reds’ first goal.
Salah, who is heading off to AFCON after this game, then played a sublime pass into the box with the outside of his left foot. Gakpo made the run but seemed to mishit his shot which helped him as it wrong footed The Magpies keeper and gave the hosts a two-goal cushion.
Anfield then had flashbacks of Kevin Keegan and games gone by as Longstaff’s corner found an unmarked Botman who headed home with less than ten minutes of the game remaining. Surely the party poopers were not going to do it again, the fans wondered.
Then came the most comedic point of the game. Liverpool countered and Salah sent Jota clean through. The striker took it around Dubravka, with everyone expecting him to slot home. He continued for a while before then falling to the floor.
The referee pointed to the spot and VAR reviewed it and confirmed the onfield decision. While there was slight contact from the Newcastle keeper surely the moment had gone as Jota seemed to go down with a delayed reaction like this was some spoof sketch.
Mohamed Salah stepped up to put his miss behind him as he sent the keeper the wrong way and gave the scoreline a convincing look which the hosts did deserve. Had Dubravka not made all the saves he did, this game could have been a cricket score.
Liverpool took all three points and unbelievably had 34 shots in the game, with 15 of those being on target. They had dismantled Eddie Howe’s side and established a three point gap over Villa in second and more importantly, five points ahead of Arsenal and Man City.
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