Liverpool moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League with a thrilling 4-2 win over Newcastle United.
All six goals at Anfield came in a breathless second half.
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Mohamed Salah made amends for a missed penalty with his 150th Liverpool Premier League goal, before Alexander Isak equalised against the run of play with Newcastle’s first shot on target.
Liverpool scored twice in quick succession to make it 3-1, and although Sven Botman’s header set up a nervy finish, Salah converted a second spot-kick of the match to go joint-top of the Premier League scoring charts this season.
Newcastle's Martin Dubravka was in incredible form, ending the match with 10 saves, the joint-most by any goalkeeper in a fixture this season, as Liverpool racked up 7.27 Expected Goals, the highest total on record by a team in a single Premier League match since such data became available in 2010/11.
34 to 5: How Liverpool outshot Newcastle
How the match unfolded
Liverpool made four changes from their Boxing Day victory against Burnley, with Ibrahima Konate, Dominik Szoboszlai, Curtis Jones, and Luis Diaz coming in. The Reds were also boosted by the return of Alexis Mac Allister, who was named on the bench after recovering from a knee injury.
Newcastle made two changes, with Miguel Almiron being replaced by Joelinton while Tino Livramento came in for Kieran Trippier, who was out of the matchday squad after suffering a groin injury.
Liverpool made a fast start at Anfield, producing five shots in the opening 15 minutes. First, Trent Alexander-Arnold saw a left-footed strike deflected wide of a post before Dubravka saved superbly from Darwin Nunez.
The hosts then had a goal ruled out for offside. Diaz finished from close range after a loose ball had fallen to him, but it was disallowed because Nunez was offside in the build-up.
Moments later Liverpool were awarded a penalty after Diaz was tripped by Botman. But Salah was denied from the spot by Dubravka and Alexander-Arnold blazed the rebound over the crossbar.
Nunez was again thwarted by Dubravka after he had forced Botman into a mistake, before Alexander-Arnold struck a post from an acute angle.
Against the run of play, Newcastle thought they had taken the lead in the 37th minute when Dan Burn, who was captaining the team in the absence of Jamaal Lascelles and Trippier, headed in at the far post from Lewis Miley's cross. However, Isak was offside in the build-up.
Liverpool finally made their pressure count when Salah made amends for his penalty miss by tapping into an empty net in the 49th minute. The goal was his 150th for the Reds in the Premier League, only the fifth player to reach the landmark for a single club in the competition, after Harry Kane, Sergio Aguero, Wayne Rooney and Thierry Henry.
The battle between Dubravka and Nunez continued as the goalkeeper made two more saves to deny the Uruguayan.
And within six minutes of Liverpool going ahead, Isak stunned Anfield to score the equaliser with a neat run in behind and finish into the far corner.
Liverpool retook the lead in the 74th minute when Jones finished off a fine move that started with Salah, who passed to Diogo Jota, who squared the ball across the six-yard box for the 22-year-old to finish.
Four minutes later Liverpool doubled their advantage as Gakpo scuffed the ball in from Salah's superb cross.
Newcastle refused to throw in the towel, though, and they got themselves back in the contest when Botman headed in from Sean Longstaff's corner.
The goals kept coming when Liverpool were awarded another penalty as Jota was brought down by Dubravaka. After missing his first effort, Salah stepped up again and went the other way to score his 14th Premier League goal of the season, matching Erling Haaland, in his final match before departing for the Africa Cup of Nations.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Man City
MCI
|
38 | +62 | 91 |
| 2 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
38 | +62 | 89 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
38 | +45 | 82 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
38 | +13 | 66 |
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
38 | +15 | 68 |
| 5 |
Spurs
TOT
|
38 | +13 | 66 |
| 6 |
Chelsea
CHE
|
38 | +14 | 63 |
| 7 |
Newcastle
NEW
|
38 | +23 | 60 |
| 8 |
Man Utd
MUN
|
38 | -1 | 60 |
| 9 |
West Ham
WHU
|
38 | -14 | 52 |
Liverpool move on to 45 points after 20 matches played, three clear of second-placed Aston Villa.
Newcastle, who have lost five of their last six Premier League matches, remain in ninth with 29 points, 11 behind Arsenal in fourth.
Liverpool report | Newcastle report
Next five Premier League fixtures
Key facts
Liverpool are now unbeaten in 28 consecutive home Premier League matches against Newcastle, winning 23 and drawing five, the joint longest home unbeaten run by a side against a specific opponent in the competition’s history (Chelsea vs Everton, also an ongoing run of 28).
Salah became the first player to miss a penalty, score a penalty and provide an assist in a single Premier League game since Rooney for Everton vs Swansea in December 2017.
Salah has become just the third player to amass 20+ goal involvements (goals + assists) in seven consecutive Premier League seasons after Kane (9 successive seasons between 2014/15 - 2022/23) and Henry (7 successive seasons between 1999/00 - 2005/06).
Newcastle have lost five of their last six Premier League matches, suffering five successive away defeats for the first time since January 2021.
