Liverpool recovered well after going a goal down to eventually win 3-1 courtesy of goals from Diogo Jota, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold. 

Salah’s goal on 25 minutes equalled Jamie Vardy’s record of providing a goal or an assist in 15 consecutive Premier League appearances.

The win was made ever more important after title rivals Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw at home against an injury hit Everton side.

The Reds are now three points clear of Chelsea and a mere point behind league leaders, Manchester City.

Story of the Game

Klopp’s men started the game on top against Eddie Howe’s side but poor control from Thiago in the Liverpool attack gave the Toon a chance to counter and it was Allan Saint-Maximin who spearheaded that attack.

The French winger turned lone striker ran the length of the pitch before playing Ryan Fraser in on the overlap. The ex-Bournemouth winger hit a sub-par cross into the middle which was shanked at by Thiago and saw his poor clearance fall at the feet of ex-Red Jonjo Shelvey who side footed a strike with some venom from 20-yards out into Alisson’s bottom right-hand corner to give Newcastle a shock lead.

Liverpool soon replied with a goal of their own to steady the Anfield nerves thanks to their Portuguese forward, Diogo Jota. The ex-Wolves man rose high to head Sadio Mane’s inch perfect cross goalward. Martin Dúbravka produced a fine first save but the rebound was finished coolly from the twenty-five-year-old to level proceedings.

Jonjo Shelvey was seemingly still bathing in the glory of his first goal when he was caught napping in possession and went from hero to villain in the blink of an eye. A lazy backwards pass was cut out by a rapid Mane who hit a tame effort at Dúbravka but who else than Mohamed Salah to hit a first-time rebound shot into the bottom corner to put the Reds in front. That goal was the Egyptian’s 15th league goal of the season in only his 17th game. A truly remarkable return.

Liverpool came out after the break in rest mode and failed to create any chances against the tight-knit Newcastle defence. Just as it felt as though the Toon could shock the league and grab a point at Anfield, Trent Alexander-Arnold hit an absolute rocket into the back of the Toon net from some 25-yards out. It was as sweet a strike he will ever hit in his career and to do so at the Kop end will have made it even sweeter for the local hero.

That proved to be all she wrote and although not the prettiest performance in the world, it was exactly what they needed on a night when their rivals dropped points at home against lesser opposition.