Liverpool beat Newcastle United 4-2 on Monday night to move three points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
Mohamed Salah scored a brace in the tie despite missing an earlier penalty as Newcastle somehow made it to the break with the match still goalless.
The Egyptian opened the scoring after the restart, faced with an empty net after Darwin Nunez squared the ball, but Alexander Isak equalised with a composed finish just five minutes later. Diogo Jota laid it on a plate for Curtis Jones to tap home as the Reds restored their lead, before Cody Gakpo swiftly added a third for Liverpool after a sensational pass from Salah.
The visitors were not done yet as Sven Botman rose highest from a corner to leave the Magpies with ten minutes to find an equalizer. But the deficit was quickly doubled, this time finishing the match for good. Alexis Mac Allister played Diogo Jota clean through, and the Portuguese forward went around Martin Dubravka, took a couple of steps and then threw himself to the floor.
The delay wasn’t enough to save Newcastle, the referee pointing to the spot and VAR confirming the spot. Salah again stepped up and this time found the bottom corner, sealing the three points as a final gift before his departure to the Africa Cup of Nations.
