Newcastle 1-5 Liverpool

Liverpool destroyed Newcastle by five goals to one, and it could just have easily been ten, but for the goalkeeping of Shay Given. The home side were clearly outclassed as Liverpool maintained their deserved place at the head of the Premiership.

Steven Gerrard, who else, opened the scoring after 32 minutes and then Sami Hypia made it two up, five minutes later. However, when Newcastle levelled just before half time, it didn't seem that they were quite done with. At least not until Ryan Babel made it three five minutes after the interval, as it started to look as though there was no way back. Gerrard scored again after 66 minutes, and Alonso finished off a fine display when he scored from the spot after 77 minutes.

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It seemed that only goalkeeper Given was showing Liverpool any resistance, and when they are in this sort of form, one man simply isn't enough to stop the rot. He made some great saves, and kept the visitors at bay for the first half hour. But it was inevitable that Liverpool's dominance would eventually prove too much, and once they had scored the opposition really caved in!

Other than Given, Newcastle's defence was virtually non-existent, but it gave a confidant Liverpool some excellent shooting practice. Manager Rafael Benitez, must have been delighted on his return from a spell in hospital. It seemed strange that he left out Robbie Keane from the proceedings, as he was a two-goal hero on Boxing Day, but it's difficult to argue with success. However, the ex Spurs man would have welcomed the opportunity to shine again in the post Christmas activity.

At the end you would have to say that Newcastle were pretty appalling, and Liverpool will not always have this much of their own way. However, three points away from home are always worth having, and when presented with a walk in the park, they can save their energy for the greater challenges that are sure to come.


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Newcastle 1-5 Liverpool
soccer and football
Newcastle 1-5 Liverpool