Staff Reporter.
Liverpool kept themselves firmly in the fight for the quadruple as they overcame a spirited Newcastle Unied to move back to the top of the Premier League – for a few hours at least.
Jurgen Klopp made five changes at St James’ Park, including leaving top scorer Mohamed Salah on the bench, after the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
It looked like it would backfire as in-form Newcastle started strongly, pressing Liverpool high and forcing them into a couple of early mistakes.
But Liverpool grew into the game and were dominating possession when Naby Keita struck in the 19th minute.
The midfielder showed great composure as he dribbled across the box and past Martin Dubravka before slotting into the net.
Sadio Mane should have made it 2-0 before the break when his shot on the counter was too close to Dubravka, who also made a fine save from a Diogo Jota header.
The Newcastle fans, who were aggrieved that play continued in the lead-up to Liverpool’s goal because Fabian Schar was down injured, thought Miguel Almiron had equalised after rounding Alisson, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Liverpool continued to search for a second, Jota coming close once again when he powered a Jordan Henderson cross at goal, but Dubravka touched the attempt over the bar in one of several impressive saves.
This pattern continued after the break, with the visitors failing to capitalise on their chances in front of the Newcastle goal. Mane squandered another promising Liverpool attack in the 60th minute, pushing his effort wide of the goal after a terrific run from Joe Gomez down the right wing.
Despite Liverpool’s dominance, Newcastle looked spritely when they had the ball, and came close to finding an equaliser in the 87th minute when Guimaraes found space on the edge of the box and fired a low shot, but Alisson covered it well and Liverpool held on to secure the three points.
It was not a vintage Liverpool display, but they got the job done to go two points clear at the top and put the pressure back on Manchester City, who face Leeds at Elland Road at 17:30 BST on Saturday.