Goals:

1-0: Perez (73, drilled home from close range after Moreno miscontrolled Sissoko’s square ball in the area)

Bookings: Skrtel (44, foul), Taylor (45, unsporting behaviour), Sissoko (49, foul), Janmaat (62, foul), Henderson (72, foul), Colback (79, foul), Lovren (89, foul)

Referee: Andre Marriner (Sheldon) – Could have taken a dimmer view of fierce tackles from Sissoko and Janmaat that other officials might have deemed worthy of a red card 6

Attendance: 52,166

Entertainment: **

NEWCASTLE (4-2-3-1):

6 Krul: Wouldn’t have expected such an uneventful afternoon, but made a couple of decent second-half saves from Balotelli

8 Janmaat: Defended superbly against Coutinho and tried to get forward on the overlap when the opportunity presented itself

8 S Taylor: Has performed excellently since returning to the side and was a commanding defensive presence once again

7 Coloccini: Combined with Taylor to mark Balotelli out of the game and was always in the right place to thwart Liverpool’s attacking

8 Dummett: Stuck tightly to Sterling all afternoon and made one of England’s most highly-rated attackers look thoroughly ordinary

7 Colback: Marshalled the base of Newcastle’s midfield superbly and was neat and industrious when he had the ball at his feet

8 ABEID: Has been a revelation in his last two appearances and outclassed opponents boasting far more experience and prestige

6 Obertan: Was a lively presence in the opening 20 minutes but had to be stretchered to the dressing room after damaging his thigh

8 Sissoko: Another barnstorming display from the much-improved midfielder, with his square pass helping to set up Perez’s goal

5 Ameobi: Had one of those afternoons when things didn’t really come off, with his right-wing role not really playing to his strengths

5 Cisse: Saw a first-half effort cleared off the line by Johnson, but his movement appeared restricted and he was taken off at the break

 

Subs:

Aarons (for Obertan, 27): Injected some pace and incision after his first-half arrival, with one fantastic 40-yard run in particular catching the eye 7

Perez (for Cisse, 46): Displayed a striker’s instinct to drill home the only goal of the game and make it two crucial goals in the space of six days 8

Cabella (for Ameobi, 66): Produced some nice touches in his half-hour on the field, but wasted a glorious chance to score Newcastle’s second 5

(not used): Elliot (gk), Haidara, R Taylor, Gouffran.

 

LIVERPOOL (4-2-3-1):

Mignolet 5; Johnson 6, Lovren 6, Skrtel 6, Moreno 4; Gerrard 4, Allen 5 (Borini 66, 5); Sterling 4, Coutinho 4 (Lambert 80), HENDERSON 6, Balotelli 4.

Subs (not used): Jones (gk), Toure, Manquillo, Can, Lallana.

 

Man Of The Match: MEHDI ABEID – The 22-year-old looked completely at ease on his first Premier League start, with his tackling and ball retention proving a key part of Newcastle’s midfield dominance.