Liverpool 4-2 Newcastle: Player ratings as Reds open up three point lead in Premier League
Goals from Curtis Jones, Cody Gakpo and a brace from Mohamed Salah were enough to secure Liverpool a crucial 4-2 win over Newcastle United. The Reds were thoroughly dominant at Anfield on New Year's Day, having 32 attempts on goal and accumulating an xG over seven (the highest in the league's history). Had it not been for an in-form Martin Dubravka and an out-of-form Darwin Nunez, Liverpool could've thumped Newcastle. The win sees Liverpool open up a three point lead atop of the Premier League table, while Newcastle drop down to ninth in the table. How the game unfolded Attacking toward the Kop end in the first half, Liverpool started the game extremely brightly, pinning Newcastle United back into their own defensive third. That early pressure would almost culminate in a goal just two minutes in, when a Trent Alexander-Arnold effort from outside the box spun narrowly wide of the foot of the left post following a deflection. Ten minutes later, Alexander-Arnold turned provi...