Liverpool brushed aside Newcastle United to move 13 points clear at the top of the Premier League.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister scored the goals for The Reds either side of halftime in a comfortable performance at Anfield, with John Heitinga taking charge in place of the suspended Arne Slot. Newcastle struggled without talisman Alexander Isak, who was unavailable due to a groin injury.
Eddie Howe would go on to rue the absence of his Swedish gunman as Newcastle lacked any real ruthlessness in attacking areas. Liverpool controlled the game from start to finish, their quality proving too much for the Magpies.
Embed from Getty ImagesAs it happened
The opening half demonstrated Liverpool’s title credentials. They nullified the Magpies, who were blunt in attack without Isak. The first talking point came after just three minutes as Lewis Hall brought down Salah in the area. However, Stuart Atwell denied Anfield’s penalty appeals and awarded a free kick to the visitors for a foul outside the box.
The Reds would only have to wait till the eleventh minute for their opener. Luis Díaz drove into the area and picked out Dominik Szoboszlai, whose low effort took a slight deflection to beat Nick Pope and put the hosts in front.
Liverpool had chances to double their lead before halftime. Díaz and Diogo Jota linked up well on the counterattack and almost fed Mo Salah at the back post, but acrobatic defending by Hall denied him. Jota was again almost provider when he set up Szoboszlai on the edge of the area, but the Hungarian bent his shot agonisingly wide. The final chance of the half saw Díaz spot Salah out on the right flank, but the Egyptian’s trademark curling effort flew just over the bar. The suspended Arne Slot would be happy with his side’s control at the break, as Eddie Howe pondered how to change the game without his talisman.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe initial opening to the second period saw Newcastle hold a lot more of the ball and pose more threat to Liverpool’s defence. As a result, the game turned rather scrappy and Liverpool turned to the quality on the bench. Cody Gakpo was introduced for Jota in the 62nd minute.
One minute after the change, Anfield erupted after a wonderfully well-worked goal. Newcastle gave the ball away in the middle of the park, leaving Alexis Mac Allister to motor forward with plenty of choices out wide. He opted to link up with Salah, who mesmerised the Newcastle defence with some masterful footwork before poking the ball back to the free Mac Allister to whip it past Pope.
Embed from Getty ImagesMore Salah sorcery was to come as Liverpool countered the visitors with a perfect long ball out to the Egyptian. He weaved his way forward before producing an incredible trivela pass to Diaz at the back-post who – on the stretch – poked wide. Liverpool thought they had a third goal in the 90th minute, but it was disallowed for a foul on Pope with Ibrahima Konaté making contact with the keeper before the ball hit the net.
Liverpool moved 13 points clear at the summit of the Premier League as Arsenal drew with Nottingham Forest, while Newcastle dropped to sixth after wins for Chelsea and Manchester City. Liverpool’s next test is against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday 5th March, while Newcastle face Brighton in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday 2nd March.
The lineups
LIV: Alisson; Tsimikas, Van Dijk, Konaté, Alexander-Arnold; Gravenberch, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister; Salah, Jota, Díaz
NEW: Pope; Hall, Schär, Burn, Livramento; Tonali, Guimarães; Gordon, Willock, Murphy; Wilson
