Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle: Premier League as it happened | Premier League

I’ll leave you with Andy Hunter’s report from Anfield on a night when Liverpool proved beyond reasonable doubt that they are capable of winning a 20th league title. Goodnight!

Jurgen Klopp drops his wedding ring while walking over to the Liverpool fans. After 10-15 seconds of panic, he finds it and punches the air in front of the Kop. Not because he found his ring, because they won in spectacular style.

The Premier League table

Full time: Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle

Peep peep! Liverpool begin 2024 with a statement of title-winning intent. That performance belonged in 2019-20, when they romped to the title with months to spare. Liverpool savaged an ailing Newcastle side and would have won by a lot more but for Martin Dubravka, whose 11 saves included a Mo Salah penalty in the 23rd minute.

All six goals came in a thrilling second half. Salah scored two, made one and played a big part in the other goal. Newcastle somehow stayed in the game, just about, until Salah scored from the spot in the 86th minute. But they were battered.

90+7 min Liverpool’s xG is apparently the highest on record: 7.2. I’m not making this up.

90+5 min Salah’s latest hat-trick attempt is desperately blocked, then Jota’s shot deflects wide. Newcastle’s defenders will sleep for a week after this.

90+4 min A cracking stat from Peter Drury on Sky. Newcastle have lost five Premier League games in the past 26 days, which is as many as they lost throughout last season.

90+2 min “Gary Neville is 100 per cent correct, Jota threw himself,” says Jeff Sax. “Where is VAR?”

They’re also trying to work out what the hell happened at Ally Pally.

90+1 min Van Dijk and Longstaff have a bit of a row over nothing. There will be seven minutes of added time.

90 min Longstaff is booked for taking out Jota, who has been quite brilliant since coming off the bench. His return is so timely given Salah’s imminent departure.

88 min Salah cuts inside, sniffing a hat-trick, and belts a shot that is headed up in the air by Schar. Liverpool have been fantastic going forward tonight.

GOAL! Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle (Salah 86 pen)

Salah opens his body to send Dubravka the wrong way and clinch a pulsating victory!

86 min Mo Salah steps forward again…

84 min: Penalty to Liverpool! Jota runs through on goal, strolls round Dubravka and goes over. Dubravka certainly made contact – but then there was a beat before Jota went over. Gary Neville on Sky says it shouldn’t be a penalty because “the delay is too great… he just throws himself to the ground”. I can see both sides!

83 min “Much and all as I love Darwin’s chaotic energy, his inability to finish is a liability,” says Patrick Crumlish. “When fit and available the front three should be Salah, Diaz and Jota. That would give City a run for their money. Two goals since Nunez was subbed. Coincidence?”

There’s an argument that Nunez ran the Newcastle defence ragged for 65 minutes and that the subs reaped the benefit. I do generally agree with you on the front three, certainly when Diaz and Jota are in form, but playing against Nunez must be uniquely miserable.

82 min: Newcastle substitutions Lewis Haal and Jamaal Lascelles replace Joelinton and Dan Burn.

Sean Longstaff’s right-wing corner is met by Sven Botman, who towers over Jota and shoulders the ball into the net from six yards. This is an absurd game of fotoabll.

GOAL! Liverpool 3-2 Newcastle (Botman 81)

Who fancies another 4-3?

80 min There’s another VAR check for offside – but the goal is given.

The outstanding Salah shuffles infield from the right, teasing poor Dan Burn yet again, and wafts a delightful cross with the outside of his left foot. Gakpo meets it six yards out and miskicks the ball into the ground, but Dubravka has already committed himself and it bounces slowly into the net.

GOAL! Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle (Gakpo 78)

Even the mishits are going in now!

76 min The fit again Alexis Mac Allister replaces Endo.

75 min Almiron wallops over from the right side of the box. The two passes for Jones’ goal were lovely. Jota’s was reminiscent of Karel Poborsky’s for the Czech Republic in a classic game against the Netherlands at Euro 2004, though Jota’s was probably even better because the ball was coming across his body from the right-hand side.

The move started when Jota found Salah on the right wing. He cut inside and played a beautiful angled pass back to Jota on the right edge of the six-yard box. Jota drew Dubravka and slipped the ball square to give Curtis Jones an open goal.

GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle (Jones 74)

This is another terrific team goal.

73 min Newcastle break through Gordon on the left. He curls a deep cross towards Longstaff, who chests it down in the area and goes over under a challenge from Endo. There are no real penalty appeals, and meanwhile…

72 min “I believe goalkeepers do not get enough criticism from pundits for poor positioning,” says Gary Naylor. “but the downside of that absence of scrutiny is a lack of praise when they have a blinder. Dubravka is putting in one of the best performances of the season (anywhere on the pitch) tonight.”

He’s made 10 saves now, it says here. I think the record is 14, back in David de Gea’s pomp.

70 min Gordon, who has been so much better since moving to the left, surges infield and has a pop from distance. It’s too close to Alisson. That’s Newcastle’s third attempt at goal. Liverpool have had 28.

69 min The corner breaks to Gakpo, whose snapshot is saved to his right by the heroic Dubravka. Gravenberch wallops the rebound over the bar.

68 min It’s still pouring down, since you asked. Salah runs at Burn to win Liverpool’s umpteenth corner…

66 min Joelinton, who should have been booked for the first half, does get a yellow card for wiping out Konate.

66 min Endo is booked for something or other.

65 min: Off the line by Livramento! Salah’s extravagant curler is pushed back into trouble by the overworked Dubravka. Jones runs onto the ball and rattles a left-foot shot that is booted away by Livramento in the six-yard box. I think that was going in.

65 min: Triple substitution for Liverpool Diogo Jota, Ryan Gravenberch and Cody Gakpo replace Szoboszlai, who is holding his hamstring, Diaz and Nunez.

64 min: Chance for Nunez! He could have had five tonight. Salah pushes the ball back to Endo, who coaxes a first-time cross towards the six-yard line. Nunez strains his neck muscles for the header but flicks it just wide of the far post.

62 min Lovely feet from Diaz, who makes room for a shot from the edge of the area that is beaten away by Dubravka as he falls to his right. A Liverpool goal feels inevitable.

60 min Alexander-Arnold’s dangerous ball is missed by the stretching Diaz and kicked nervously across his own six-yard box by Livramento. He gets away with it. Moments later Diaz, who has been his 2021-22 self tonight, Cruyff-turns Livramento and pokes the ball right across the face.

60 min The xG according to Flashscore is Liverpool 3.67-0.32 Newcastle.

58 min Alisson claims a Gordon free-kick and flings the ball half the length of the field to Diaz. He makes progress down the right and crosses deep towrds Nunez, whose header back across goal is booted clear by Livramento.

56 min The substitution was Miguel Almiron for Lewis Miley. That means Gordon is playing on the left and Joelinton has moved into midfield.

Gordon, who had just moved over to the left because of a substitution I didn’t have time to report, zipped infield and slid a clever pass through to Isak. Van Dijk couldn’t decide whether to play offside, which gave Isak plenty of time to open his body and lift the ball calmly past Alisson. Blimey.

GOAL! Liverpool 1-1 Newcastle (Isak 54)

A goal out of absolutely nothing!

52 min: Dubravka denies Nunez again! This is great stuff. Konate’s long, straight pass put Nunez through on the right side of the area. He lashed the bouncing ball towards goal from a tight angle and Dubravka leapt to push it over.

52 min: Great save from Dubravka! Diaz spins a pass in behind for Salah, who hammers a volleyed cross towards Nunez. He adjusts his body to knee a close-range volley that is somehow blocked by Dubravka. It might have hit him in the neck.

All three forwards were heavily in a terrific team goal. Liverpool broke at pace following a Newcastle attack, with Diaz on the ball. He cut inside from the left and played a brilliant angled pass to put Nunez through on goal. Nunez shaped to shoot, drawing Dubravka in the process, and then squared the ball to give Salah an open goal. It’s his 150th Premier League goal.

GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Newcastle (Salah 49)

Liverpool take the lead after a deadly counter-attack.

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