Five played, five wins, 14 straight games unbeaten, and 43 home games without defeat. Newcastle just couldn’t stand in the way of that, though they tried.
Jetro Willems silenced Anfield in seven minutes with a stunner from the wingback.
A pair from Sadio Mane had Liverpool level and then in front before half-time though. Mo Salah iced the game with a two goal cushion on 72 minutes.
Liverpool are top of the Premier League. Read Liverpool’s Tristan Fitzpatrick and Ste Hoare break down the action and talking points post-match.
Willems opens the scoring, is there a finger to point there on Liverpool?
Tristan: I don’t think there is. Trent shows a left wingback on to his right foot and you don’t expect him to smash it like that. Maybe Alisson saves that, maybe Adrian could, but it was hit so hard I’m not sure.
Ste: I think we started really poorly and that probably gave Newcastle a bit of a boost and they took advantage with a very good goal. I think Trent Alexander-Arnold probably could have done better but fair play to their lad, it was a very good finish.
Matip was hauled down in the penalty box at 0-1, no penalty given. Do you think VAR should over turn that?
Ste: From where I was sat in The Kop, it looked like a stonewaller. This rule where VAR won’t overrule things that the referee sees is a joke. If the ref sees something and makes a poor decision then it should still, in my opinion, be overturned.
Tristan: Definitely. Arm over the shoulder of Matip right across his chest and he’s used his weight to take him away from the flight of the ball. It seems the Premier League don’t VAR to step-in unless it’s a 90th minute penalty decision gone wrong.
Is there anyone better with two-touches in the box than Sadio Mane?
Tristan: Not since Torres have I seen it at Liverpool. Suarez, Sturridge and Salah are all a bit of mavericks taking almost too many touches. With Mane it’s that he gets it out of his feet so fast, but it’s also hard and incredibly accurate. The goalie had no chance. The sound the side-netting made when it nestled in there is one of my favourite sounds in the world.
Ste: At the moment he’s playing at a world class level and has been for a number of months. It wasn’t that long ago when I was never convinced by his ability in front of goal but now, I expect him to score all the time. He’s gone to a level that very few players reach.
2-1 at half time justice in a mistake from the Newcastle keeper?
Tristan: Just killed the game at the perfect moment. I loved the benches’ reaction to the fourth official after not getting the penalty, basically saying ‘we’ll do it ourselves!’, in the most aggressive way possible.
Ste: I thought the pressure really told and it always felt like a goal was coming, it just happened to come from an error from their goalkeeper. I thought he had a decent game overall but that was a gift to us.
Divock Origi left the game injured on 35 minutes, worried about him missing time?
Ste: It’s not ideal as we’ve got another six games in about 20 days and whilst he wouldn’t start the ‘bigger’ ones, he’s have certainly been our first attacking change. Hopefully it’s not too serious but if it is, then it might give a chance for someone like Xherdan Shaqiri or Rhian Brewster to step up.
Tristan: I hope he doesn’t miss time because we’ve got a few big games coming up. That being said; It’s Brewster time. That I am excited for, Champions League mid-week games are starting and we’ll need everyone available. It’s hard to temper expectations on a youngster we’ve been waiting for for almost 12 months.
Newcastle had the lead for 21 minutes were you ever in doubt?
Ste: Never. Not for a second. We’re so much better than Liverpool sides of old and I was always sure we’d win.
Tristan: I’m still not as confident as you. I doubted it for the milliseconds that the ball dropped to Emil Krafth in the box start of the second half. But other than that no. We’re so impressive now and it gets more impressive every week. I grew up watching United doing it, where they’re just an unstoppable machine of pressure on the other team.
5 games 5 wins is it too early for title talk?
Ste: It’s never too early for title talk and we should embrace it. This will be a tough league to win but we shouldn’t shy away from acknowledging that our aim is to win it
Tristan: After watching in ’02 ’09 ’14 and ’19, I don’t allow myself to get carried until about six games left. Napoli, Chelsea, Leicester and Manchester United mixed in with games twice a week all month. After that still got City and then Everton. But I’m perfectly fine with those like Ste.
