Newcastle 1 Pérez 73',
Liverpool 0
- No Fabio Borini in the starting eleven, which could have brought some long overdue support for Mario Balotelli. Will young Raheem and young Philippe prove to be adequate support for Super Mario?
- Gabriel Obertan beat Dejan Lovren for pace approaching the ten minute mark and Moussa Sissoko's chance to shoot on goal was foiled by Joe Allen. It was an early claim for a penalty by the home support but the Welshman just got a touch on the ball for Liverpool to avoid a possible early calamity.
- The first five minutes promised an entertaining contest but the first half was mostly sleepy and turgid. In added on time, Liverpool's defending was simply a joke. Nothing more to say about a half that be forgotten quickly.
- On 56 minutes, Coutinho had the best chance of the game with a header that was saved well by Krul. Offside and saved so never mind.
- Newcastle have been there for Liverpool to do something approaching useful but went ahead through young Ayoze Pérez. Another spell of rubbish defending provided an opposition player with a chance to score. Alberto Moreno with the attempted but unsuccessful clearance. Newcastle nearly scored soon after on a counter attack that left them in a two against one situation but could not best Simon Mignolet's boot.
- Borini had a good shot and there was something else somewhere. It's not working with one striker Brendan Rodgers, it's just not working. There's no point castigating the players when a system is hindering them. Real Madrid and Chelsea next! A ghoulish prospect...
We'll be back shortly to take an in-depth look at everything that happened in today's game with the full recap. Until then, let us know your take on the ups and downs of the match in the comments, and if you haven't already, join the community on the Liverpool Offside, where we'll have full coverage and lively in-game discussion for every match this season.