Liverpool 3-1 Newcastle United: 5 Hits and Flops from the game | Premier League 2019-20
A double from Sadio Mane and a couple of assists from Roberto Firmino guided Liverpool to their 14th consecutive Premier League victory, over Newcastle United. Jurgen Klopp's troops have looked the part so far in the competition with 15 points from five games.
Jetro Willems drew first blood for the Toons, but Liverpool responded in sublime fashion.
The game started in scrappy fashion, with as many as three fouls won in the opening five minutes. Both sides made a steady start in what looked like a long afternoon for the visitors, but Jetro Willems had other ideas as he rifled home a thunderous strike with his right foot to the top corner, to give Newcastle a surprise lead.
From then on, Steve Bruce's side sat back, defended in numbers and sheathed the entire final third with 10 men. One-way traffic was what we witnessed, as the Reds headed into the break with 80% possession.
Chances fell to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Divock Origi. The 27th minute of the game resulted in more questions than answers again, of VAR, who didn't intervene when Lascelles hauled Matip down in the box from a Liverpool corner.
However, Jurgen Klopp's side didn't seem to require the penalty to score two and lead. Both goals came off the boots of Sadio Mane, who continued his sensational form throughout the first 45 minutes.
Newcastle began the second half with more purpose, passing with a little more incision and getting the likes of Almiron and Shelvey into the game more often.
However, that became a thing of the past when Firmino began to dictate the pace of the game and bring all the men around him into play, with the most significant of those contributions being his lovely flick to Mohamed Salah for Liverpool's third.
Liverpool made it five out of five for this season, and 14 out of as many in the league.
On that note, we analyze five players who experienced contrasting fortunes on the afternoon at Anfield.
#5 Hit: Paul Dummett
Newcastle did concede three goals against the Reds, but one man proved to be their silver lining. And that man was Paul Dummett. Ever so decisive, ever so solid in his approach, the right centre-back covered ground quickly, prevented a few crosses and won almost everything in the air.
He was quick to make the extra yard, as seen in the exceptional block made during the first half when he prevented a close-range cross the opposition right back.
Further, Dummett put in a solid shift, making vital interventions whenever called upon. He was the man of the match against Spurs, and here again, the Welshman rose to the occasion.