Newcastle gave Liverpool all they could handle but the Reds once again dug deep to win it 3-2 late on and keep the title race alive. Not for the first time this season, Divock Origi came off the bench to score a decisive goal. Over to you Manchester City.
It was far from a vintage performance but the character of this team really is something special. Legs were weary, the opposition were inspired by a raucous home crowd, and Liverpool had twice been pegged back after taking the lead. Then they lost Mohamed Salah to a head injury. Somehow they overcame all of that to rally and win the game.
Negatives
The injury to Salah is a huge blow. With Roberto Firmino already a major doubt for Tuesday night's Champions League semi-final second-leg clash with Barcelona, the last thing Liverpool needed was to lose another member of their prolific forward trio. It remains to be seen if he recovers in time, but this was something Liverpool really could have done without.
Manager rating out of 10
8 -- Jurgen Klopp somewhat surprisingly went with Daniel Sturridge in the starting lineup, but the veteran striker performed well and justified his selection. Two of Klopp's substitutes combined for the winning goal as Xherdan Shaqiri crossed for Origi to head home, so all in all a good night's work for the manager.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)
GK Alisson, 7 -- Beaten twice but no blame can be attached to the keeper on either goal. Made a few fairly routine saves and showed good handling late on, as well as making an important punch to safety deep into stoppage time.
DF Trent Alexander-Arnold, 8 -- Once again produced a clinic of passing and crossing. Created the first two goals with brilliant deliveries but was fortunate not to concede a penalty when he handled on the line. Newcastle scored from the rebound which saved him from the penalty and a red card.
DF Dejan Lovren, 5 -- Brought back into the side as Klopp continued his policy of rotating him with Joel Matip. The Croatian struggled throughout and was distinctly second best in his battle with Salomon Rondon. Substituted late on, but it could have been sooner.
DF Virgil van Dijk, 7 -- Opened the scoring with a simple header and kept a cool head when things were starting to get away from his team. It's to the great credit of Rondon that he gave the Dutchman arguably his toughest game of the season.
DF Andrew Robertson, 8 -- There were a lot of tired legs in the Liverpool side but Robertson was not among them. Another tireless performance from the Scot who excelled at both ends of the pitch again.
MF Fabinho, 7 -- A mixed bag from the Brazilian. Tackled well at times but some of his passing was erratic. Won the free kick that led to the winning goal with a theatrical fall under minimal contact and after switching into the back four performed better against Rondon than Lovren had.
MF Jordan Henderson, 7 -- Busy and diligent but not as influential as he has been in recent weeks. Victory will have been extra sweet for him as he was heckled throughout by the home crowd due to his Sunderland ties.
MF Georginio Wijnaldum, 6 -- Started brightly against his former club but faded and was replaced by Shaqiri midway through the second half.
FW Mohamed Salah, 8 -- Started the game on fire despite some rough treatment from Matt Ritchie that often went unpunished by the referee. Posed a constant threat and scored with a deft finish with his right foot. Hopefully the injury wasn't as bad as it looked.
FW Daniel Sturridge, 7 -- Looked much sharper than in his last start against Huddersfield a week ago. Produced some lovely defence-splitting passes in the first half, and showed all his experience by keeping the ball and slowing the game down in the closing stages. Should have scored with a relatively simple chance he put over the bar shortly before Newcastle's second equaliser.
FW Sadio Mane, 6 -- Never really got going and this was the Senegal man's least effective performance in months. Could have scored in the first half when he ran onto a Salah through ball but shot straight at the keeper.
Substitutes:
FW Xherdan Shaqiri, 7 -- Didn't do much, but produced one brilliant delivery when it really mattered and that helped to win the game.
FW Divock Origi, N/R -- Another vital late goal from the Belgian. If Liverpool win the title, the part he has played will never be forgotten.
DF James Milner, N/R -- Klopp sent him on for his experience and he showed it with a tactical foul on Christian Atsu to break up a dangerous Newcastle counter-attack. It earned him a booking but it was worth it.
