PREMIER LEAGUE: Liverpool beat Newcastle United to go top of the table mounting pressure on Man City

Jurgen Klopp, who signed a contract extension on Thursday to remain at Liverpool until 2026, made five changes from the team that began the midweek Champions League win against Villarreal.

Mohamed Salah, Fabinho and Thiago Alcantara were all named on the bench, as James Milner, Naby Keita, Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota and Joel Matip came into the team.

Naby Keita's goal

Newcastle made a strong start to the match by pressing Liverpool's defence, but Naby Keita subdued the buoyant home crowd after 19 minutes with a lovely finish by dribbling in from the right and going past goalkeeper Martin Dubravka before firing the ball into the net.

There were jeers from the Newcastle crowd regarding the goal because Milner appeared to catch Fabian Schar in the build-up to the goal, but VAR deemed there was no foul.

The Magpies continued to press and unsettled Liverpool with flying tackles, and they even had a disallowed goal just before half time when Miguel Almiron was caught offside.

Sadio Mane and Diogo Jota had chances in the second half to double Liverpool's lead but failed to seriously test goalkeeper Dubravka, leaving Klopp's side with a nervy final 20 minutes, prompting Salah, Fabinho and later Thiago to come off the bench.

At the other end Alisson had a relatively quiet afternoon whilst Liverpool will be delighted to hold on and come away with three points after a difficult week, with three games in six days.

Liverpool's win was another small hurdle overcome in their bid for a historic quadruple, as they now look to Manchester City who face Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday evening.