Liverpool remain in top four hunt after vital win over 10-man Newcastle

RED MIST: Newcastle United goalkeeper Nick Pope (right) leaves the pitch after being being shown a red card during the Premier League match at St. James' Park. Pic: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire

Newcastle 0 Liverpool 2 

Liverpool remain very much in the hunt for a top four finish after gratefully accepting the plentiful gifts on offer from an utterly out of character Newcastle display which at times bordered on the shambolic.

The wheels fell off in spectacular style for Eddie Howe's side, who put in a Keystone Cops-style performance that somewhat implausibly saw them two goals down and reduced to 10 men with the contest still in its first quarter.

After a pitch-perfect minute's applause to remember Christian Atsu following confirmation the former Newcastle midfielder is sadly among the thousands of victims of the recent devastating earthquake in Turkey, the hosts set about hitting the self-destruct button in just about every possible way.

Liverpool didn't play particularly well, but in fairness they didn't have to as they secured with some ease a victory which lifts them to eighth, six points behind and with a game in hand on the fourth-place Magpies, who lost for the first time in 18 Premier League matches and have failed to win any of their last four.

For his part, Howe has now lost 15 of the 17 games he's managed against the Merseysiders, who won for only the third time on the road in the league this season.

As a pre-Wembley send-off, things couldn't have gone much worse. Joelinton limped off near the end with what looked like a hamstring problem as the Newcastle manager was left with some serious selection dilemmas for next Sunday's Carabao Cup final, most notably in goal where Nick Pope will miss out against Manchester United through suspension.

The England keeper lost the plot at the worst possible moment as he was sent off for handling outside the area when an attempted headed clearance went comically wrong, this after having conceded two goals in a game for the first time since the defeat at Anfield in August.

With his replacement Martin Dubravka cup tied and Karl Darlow loaned to Hull, the lesser-spotted Loris Karius is set for the most high profile of debuts at Wembley. Now just remind us how the 29-year-old did for Liverpool in his last major final, the Champions League defeat to Real Madrid five years ago.

Dubravka's first touch came as he saved at the second attempt to prevent a header from Cody Gakpo doubling the Dutchman's tally after the January arrival beat Newcastle's creaking offside trap to fire home his side's second from Mo Salah's lofted pass through a gaping hole in the hosts defence.

That came after 17 minutes, shortly after Darwin Nunez was given similar time and space to take a touch to control a Trent Alexander-Arnold pass into the box, benefiting from a fortunate ricochet off his chest before confidently thumping his shot past Pope.

In fairness to Howe's side, they appeared more capable of reducing the deficit with 10 men than they had done with a full roster. Allan Saint-Maximin, looking far more like the player who terrorised defences at the start of the season, forced a fine save from Alisson after a trademark jinking run into the box.

The visitors were then saved by the frame of the goal when a Dan Burn header came back off the bar from a corner but inevitably due to their numerical disadvantage Newcastle tired as the contest wore on, although substitute Callum Wilson should have pulled one back when he saw a late shot blocked by Alisson.

Liverpool, who were the last visiting top flight side to win here in April, saw out the second-half with few alarms. They might even have extended their advantage but for a fine display from Dubravka, in addition to Diogo Jota heading wastefully wide and Andrew Robertson opting to pass with the goal seemingly at the mercy of the marauding Scot.

Newcastle (4-3-3): Pope 3; Trippier 6 (Murphy 64, 5), Schar 4, Botman 5, Burn 5; S Longstaff 4, Joelinton 4 (Ritchie 70, 6), Anderson 5 (Dubravka 24, 7); Almiron 6 (Gordon 64, 6 ), Isak 5 (Wilson 64, 5), Saint-Maximin 7. 

Sent off: Pope.

Liverpool (4-3-3): Alisson 8; Alexander-Arnold 7, Gomez 7, van Dijk 7, Robertson 7; Henderson 6 (Elliott 59, 6), Fabinho 6, Bajcetic 7 (Milner 59, 6); Salah 7, Nunez 7 (Firmino 59, 6), Gakpo 8 (Jota 59, 6). 

Referee: A Taylor (Greater Manchester).