Seven defeats out of a possible eight in all competitions is not the sort of form you want to take into a local derby but that is exactly what Eddie Howe’s beleaguered squad will be doing come Saturday’s FA cup 3rdRound tie, following their defeat at Anfield against an at times rampant Liverpool.
And the weather wasn’t the only storm they faced as from the off Liverpool besieged the Newcastle goal, running off a record 18 shots in the first half as Newcastle’s defence held on by the thinnest of threads.
Alexander Arnold missed two great chances to put his side ahead as did Nunes, while Diaz had a goal chalked off for the narrowest of offsides before Liverpool were awarded a penalty which Salah failed to dispatch.
Newcastle’s goal was living a charmed life as chance after chance was thwarted by a combination of poor finishing and fine goalkeeping from Dubravka as he battled to keep his team in it.
However, even he could do nothing about the opener when it did come, as Diaz and Nunes set up Salah to tap home from short range in the 49th minute after the first half amazingly ended with the scores level.
Yet amazingly Newcastle were level on 54 minutes when Alexander Isak produced a clinical finish from his sides first shot on target, although they did have the ball in the net earlier, when Dan Burn’s header past Alisson was ruled offside.
However, Liverpool were not put off their strides they continued to play with the sort of intensity that we had come to expect from Newcastle in the last 12 months as they pressed and harried; worked the angles and making the most of the space that Newcastle presented them.
Liverpool’s second came as Jones tapped home following some fine interplay involving the ever-dangerous Salah and the Egyptian then set up Liverpool’s third goal when he linked up with substitutes Jota and Gapko; collectively £84m worst of talent that started the game on the bench before Gapko rolled Salah’s pass into the net.
On 81 minutes it looked like another of those Anfield night of the mid 90’s could be on the cards as back came Newcastle as Sven Botman headed home a corner to make it 3-2 but the fightback was not to be when Liverpool were awarded a second penalty when Dubravka was adjudged to have caught Jota with the finest of touches as the Portuguese striker rounded the outstretched keeper and then inexplicably fell to the turf with the goal at his beckoning.
Salah stepped up and sent Martin Dubravka the wrong way to secure the three points.
The victory means Liverpool are unbeaten in 22 games at Anfield and have now only lost one of their past 52 home games in the Premier League. They sit top of the table on 45 points; three clear of surprise package Aston Villa and five ahead of champions Man City, on 40 points but have a game in hand.
While we can point to injuries – Howe had 9 players unavailable last night and with long term suspendee Tonali merely watching from afar – Howe’s side have only earned five points away from St James' Park so far this season and have only kept one clean sheet in their past 19 away games.
The fluency of their game has gone; their passing is no longer as accurate as it was; their midfield is being overrun, their defence is a shadow of the one that set record after record last season and the momentum that their effort used to bring is no longer on show.
Howe needs his team to get back to doing the basics right; eliminate the errors and start to be more clinical when in possession.
After probably the most hectic December in terms of fixtures that the club has ever endured, they play just three games in January - four if they beat Sunderland in the FA Cup third round on Saturday - and Howe must hope that his squad can benefit from this so called “winter break”, get his injured players back fit and get back to winning games.
Speaking after the game Howe told BBC Sport "We're battling to get our best levels back. The effort and determination was there. As long as we continue to see that we'll be fine.”
"The most important thing is we're fighting. We're missing a lot of players, we've had a lot of tough fixtures in a congested December."
Let’s hope he’s right!
And the weather wasn’t the only storm they faced as from the off Liverpool besieged the Newcastle goal, running off a record 18 shots in the first half as Newcastle’s defence held on by the thinnest of threads.
Alexander Arnold missed two great chances to put his side ahead as did Nunes, while Diaz had a goal chalked off for the narrowest of offsides before Liverpool were awarded a penalty which Salah failed to dispatch.
Newcastle’s goal was living a charmed life as chance after chance was thwarted by a combination of poor finishing and fine goalkeeping from Dubravka as he battled to keep his team in it.
However, even he could do nothing about the opener when it did come, as Diaz and Nunes set up Salah to tap home from short range in the 49th minute after the first half amazingly ended with the scores level.
Yet amazingly Newcastle were level on 54 minutes when Alexander Isak produced a clinical finish from his sides first shot on target, although they did have the ball in the net earlier, when Dan Burn’s header past Alisson was ruled offside.
However, Liverpool were not put off their strides they continued to play with the sort of intensity that we had come to expect from Newcastle in the last 12 months as they pressed and harried; worked the angles and making the most of the space that Newcastle presented them.
Liverpool’s second came as Jones tapped home following some fine interplay involving the ever-dangerous Salah and the Egyptian then set up Liverpool’s third goal when he linked up with substitutes Jota and Gapko; collectively £84m worst of talent that started the game on the bench before Gapko rolled Salah’s pass into the net.
On 81 minutes it looked like another of those Anfield night of the mid 90’s could be on the cards as back came Newcastle as Sven Botman headed home a corner to make it 3-2 but the fightback was not to be when Liverpool were awarded a second penalty when Dubravka was adjudged to have caught Jota with the finest of touches as the Portuguese striker rounded the outstretched keeper and then inexplicably fell to the turf with the goal at his beckoning.
Salah stepped up and sent Martin Dubravka the wrong way to secure the three points.
The victory means Liverpool are unbeaten in 22 games at Anfield and have now only lost one of their past 52 home games in the Premier League. They sit top of the table on 45 points; three clear of surprise package Aston Villa and five ahead of champions Man City, on 40 points but have a game in hand.
While we can point to injuries – Howe had 9 players unavailable last night and with long term suspendee Tonali merely watching from afar – Howe’s side have only earned five points away from St James' Park so far this season and have only kept one clean sheet in their past 19 away games.
The fluency of their game has gone; their passing is no longer as accurate as it was; their midfield is being overrun, their defence is a shadow of the one that set record after record last season and the momentum that their effort used to bring is no longer on show.
Howe needs his team to get back to doing the basics right; eliminate the errors and start to be more clinical when in possession.
After probably the most hectic December in terms of fixtures that the club has ever endured, they play just three games in January - four if they beat Sunderland in the FA Cup third round on Saturday - and Howe must hope that his squad can benefit from this so called “winter break”, get his injured players back fit and get back to winning games.
Speaking after the game Howe told BBC Sport "We're battling to get our best levels back. The effort and determination was there. As long as we continue to see that we'll be fine.”
"The most important thing is we're fighting. We're missing a lot of players, we've had a lot of tough fixtures in a congested December."
Let’s hope he’s right!
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