Things are looking up at Liverpool after a solid 2-0 win over Newcastle left Jurgen Klopp’s side just six points short of the Premier League top four with a game in hand.
Early goals from Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo did the trick for the away team at St James’ Park. Nick Pope was then sent off in the 22nd minute for handballing outside his area to prevent Mohamed Salah having a goalscoring opportunity.
After a miserable start to 2023, Liverpool have now won back-to-back Premier League games, against Everton and Newcastle, to move back into contention for the top four. They will now turn their attention to hosting Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday.
Here is the latest news from the club.
Liverpool revival continues
Klopp’s side looked somewhere like back to their best against Newcastle. Trent Alexander-Arnold picked out a lovely pass to send Nunez through to score the opening goal before Salah’s dink over the defence set up Gakpo for his second goal for the club.
While Alisson was forced into making a few saves, there was an element of control to the Reds’ performance.
What will please Klopp even more was the sight, again, of Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino getting more minutes under their belts off the bench.
Read the talking points from the match.
Klopp gives Nunez update
It was not all good news for Liverpool at St James’ Park, with goal scorer Nunez forced off with a shoulder injury.
With a midweek tie against Real Madrid on the horizon, it was a worrying sight. Klopp said the Uruguayan striker would have to be assessed before Liverpool would know when he might return.
“The bad news [is] Darwin has something on his shoulder,” he said. “We will see. In that situation I don’t know what he [the referee] whistled there against him, to be honest.
"In the end, he had to go off with a shoulder issue. We need further assessment; I don’t know in the moment. In the moment is it painful, but hopefully it’s just painful and not more."
Van Dijk sends message
Virgil van Dijk was back in the side after six weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury – and he was quick to make a point about the Reds’ strength.
Newcastle have lost just twice in the Premier League all season across their 23 games. Both of them have come against Liverpool.
“We've had results in the season where we have felt like this is the time to kick on,” Van Dijk told Sky Sports. “But this feels a little bit different. Coming away from the big win against Everton, it was important to keep going and find a way to win.
"The red card changed the game a little bit. We could have done better, but there is a reason why we are the only team to win here.”
