NEWCASTLE UNITED’S 17-game Premier League unbeaten run came crashing to an end as they suffered a defeat that will have repercussions that extend way beyond their meeting with Liverpool.

The Magpies suffered a 2-0 defeat as St James’ Park celebrated what would have been the 90th birthday of the club’s former manager, Sir Bobby Robson, but it was the loss of goalkeeper Nick Pope that was the most damaging aspect of the evening.

Pope was sent off midway through the first half for handling the ball outside his area, and his dismissal means he will now be suspended for next weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester United at Wembley.

Newcastle were already 2-0 down when Pope misjudged the flight of a long ball over the top, with Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo having scored inside the opening 17 minutes, and while the Magpies battled away gamely with ten men, with Alisson tipping Allan Saint-Maximin’s shot onto the crossbar, they were unable to claw back their deficit.

Newcastle actually started the game brightly, creating two good chances inside the opening five minutes.

Miguel Almiron’s stabbed shot was saved by Alisson after the Paraguayan controlled a through ball from Saint-Maximin, before Saint-Maximin went close himself, flashing a first-time volley past the far post after his initial ball into the box had been headed back to him.

The night was about to take a turn for the worse though, with Liverpool opening the scoring in the tenth minute.

Kieran Trippier was screaming for handball as Nunez controlled Trent Alexander-Arnold’s through ball, but the ball struck the Uruguayan’s chest rather than his arm, and he rifled an excellent finish past Pope.

Newcastle were repeatedly undone by balls beyond their back four, and when Mo Salah unlocked the Magpies’ backline seven minutes after Nunez’s opener, Liverpool doubled their lead. Gakpo controlled the Egyptian’s pass and slid home a low finish from inside the area.

That was bad enough, but things were about to become even more catastrophic from a black-and-white perspective.

There seemed little danger when Alisson tried to release Salah with a long ball over the top, but Pope misjudged his race from his line and appeared to slip as he advanced towards the ball. Panicking, the Magpies goalkeeper instinctively thrust out his hand and clearly handled the ball outside the area.

Referee Anthony Taylor issued an immediate red card, reducing Newcastle to ten men and meaning that Pope will now be suspended for next weekend’s Carabao Cup final against Manchester United. With Martin Dubravka, who came off the bench in the wake of Pope’s dismissal this evening, cup tied after playing for Manchester United in a previous round, Newcastle will either have to start with Loris Karius in goal at Wembley or recall Karl Darlow from his loan spell at Hull City.

Reeling from Pope’s departure, Newcastle made a decent job of steadying the ship in the remainder of the first half, indeed they might well have entered the interval with at least one goal to their name.

Saint-Maximin did brilliantly to dribble his way into space in the penalty area, but Alisson did even better as he tipped the Frenchman’s goal-bound effort onto the crossbar.

Eleven minutes later and Alisson produced another fine save, keeping out Dan Burn’s powerful header from Trippier’s corner.

Newcastle continued to threaten at the start of the second half, despite only having ten men on the field, with Alexander Isak shooting over after turning in the area.

Moments later, Fabian Schar won a header from a corner, only for his effort to fly wide of the far post.

Liverpool’s attacking threat was nowhere near as potent as might have been expected given their man advantage, but they almost added a third just before the hour mark with Nunez cutting infield from the left and firing in a low strike that Dubravka tipped around the post.

Alisson remained the Reds’ best player though, producing a fine late save from Callum Wilson after the striker’s fellow substitute, Anthony Gordon, had slipped him in inside the area.