‘I had to step up’

Egyptian striker Mohamed Salah relieved to make up for poor first-half show with a brace in the second as Liverpool beat Newcastle 4-2 to go atop EPL table

Mohamed Salah scored twice as Liverpool stretched Newcastle’s miserable run with a 4-2 victory at Anfield to open up a three-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Monday.

Jurgen Klopp’s team should have run out even more convincing winners as Martin Dubravka saved Salah’s first-half penalty among 10 stops. But Salah made amends from the spot after he, Curtis Jones and Cody Gakpo had netted in the second half to inflict a seventh defeat in eight games on Newcastle. 

Liverpool head into the Premier League’s winter break five points clear of title rivals Manchester City and Arsenal, with Aston Villa posing an unexpected challenge in second place. 

Special night for Reds

“A special game, special night,” said Klopp. “It was a sensational game from my team. We started extremely lively. Everyone saw Dubravka or we ourselves made sure the score didn’t get too clear. “Super game. I loved so many aspects of the game bar the goals we conceded.” 

Jurgen Klopp

The Egyptian, who was playing in his final game before heading out to the African Cup of Nations, has now missed four of his last 10 spot-kicks for the Reds. 

“I thought ‘are you going to leave for the national team with that performance?’ ” said Salah of his first-half display. 

“I just had to really focus, step up and make the difference and managed to do so.”

Newcastle, by contrast, remain down in ninth and 11 points off the top four as the spotlight grows on Eddie Howe. 

The Magpies have the second worst away record in the Premier League this season with just five points from 10 games.

No shortage of effort

Howe’s men were fortunate not to be blown away by an embarrassing scoreline in stormy conditions at Anfield as Liverpool registered the highest expected goals ever in a Premier League game of 7.53. “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,” said Howe. “We’re missing a lot of players and we’ve had a lot of tough fixtures in a congested December.”

Dubravka has struggled to deputise for the sidelined Nick Pope as Newcastle’s form has slumped in recent weeks while battling an injury crisis. But the Slovakian was in top form as he denied Darwin Nunez on a handful of occasions. 

Klopp briefly loses wedding ring at Anfield

Jurgen Klopp’s joy at seeing Liverpool secure a big win in the English Premier League turned into dismay when he briefly lost his wedding ring in the post-match celebrations. It needed the sharp eye of a TV cameraperson to locate the ring in the middle of the pitch at Anfield. A relieved Klopp responded by kissing the ring in front of the cameras. “I had a massive shock,” Klopp said, “but it’s back.”

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